Autism Spectrum Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
Autism, Therapeutic body wraps
Brief summary
Severe injurious behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder are challenging. First line treatment approaches include behavioral techniques but pharmacotherapy is frequently required despite frequent adverse effects in youths. Therapeutic body wraps has been reported in small series or case reports, but has never been assessed in the context of a randomized controlled trial. The present study is an exploratory, multicenter, randomized, controlled, open label with blinded outcome assessment (PROBE design) trial of the effect of wet versus dry therapeutic body wraps in children presenting with autism spectrum disorder and severe injurious behavior.
Detailed description
Packing therapy has never been assessed, namely in children with severe injurious behavior and autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the beneficial effect of wet versus dry therapeutic body wraps through an exploratory randomized controlled open label blinded outcome assessment approach. The primary objective is the comparison of change in ABC irritability scores from baseline to 3 months between the two groups. According to the potential recruitment, we plan to recruit 30 subjects in each group. This sample size could allow us to detect a minimum effect size of 0.74 between the 2 groups (considered large in literature) with a power of 80% (two-sided test and type I error of 5%). As described elsewhere, wet or dry session will be organized through twice-a-week sessions for a 3-month duration. Comparison in primary outcome (ABC irritability score) between the 2 groups will be performed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) adjusted for the baseline value. The standardized difference (effect size) will be computed taking into account the adjustment for baseline and its 95% confidence interval will be estimated using a bootstrap resampling. The validity of the ANCOVA model will be checked by examining the model residuals. The same methodology will be used for the secondary outcomes.
Interventions
OTHERDry sheet Therapeutic body wraps
At the beginning of the session, the patient's consent to proceed was orally obtained, as no session was compulsory. The therapists checked behavioral manifestations of refusal. Then, the patient was first wrapped in Dry damp sheets (cold phase) and covered up with a rescue and a dry blanket. Afterward the body spontaneously warmed up (warm phase). The patient was then invited to freely express his feelings.
OTHERWET sheet Therapeutic body wraps
At the beginning of the session, the patient's consent to proceed was orally obtained, as no session was compulsory. The therapists checked behavioral manifestations of refusal. Then, the patient was first wrapped in wet damp sheets (cold phase) and covered up with a rescue and a dry blanket. Afterward the body spontaneously warmed up (warm phase). The patient was then invited to freely express his feelings.
Sponsors
University Hospital, Lille
Ministry of Health, France
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
5 Years to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* a current diagnosis of autism, Asperger syndrome, atypical autism according ICD-10 criteria confirmed by specialized clinical assessment; * presenting severe behavioural disturbances such as hetero and self-injurious behaviours, automutilation, severe motor hyperactivity, severe stereotypies. * having a systematically consultation by a neuro pediatric.
Exclusion criteria
* children with known organic syndrome and/or non-stabilized neuropediatric (e.g. seizures) or medical (e.g. diabetes mellitus) comorbidities. * patients with stabilized seizure condition, antiepileptic medication should be stable for at least 4 weeks.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) irritability score | Baseline and 3 months | Measure the reduction in the intensity of the behavioral disorders objectified by the sub-score Irritability of the scale ABC |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ABC hyperactivity score | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the reduction in the intensity of the behavioral disorders objectified by the sub-score hyperactivity of the scale ABC |
| ABC lethargy score | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the reduction in the intensity of the behavioral disorders objectified by the sub-score lethargy of the scale ABC |
| ABC inappropriate speech score | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the reduction in the intensity of the behavioral disorders objectified by the sub-score inappropriate speech of the scale ABC |
| ABC stereotypic behavior score | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the reduction in the intensity of the behavioral disorders objectified by the sub-score stereotypic behavior of the scale ABC |
| ABC Total score | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the reduction in the intensity of the behavioral disorders objectified by the total score of the scale ABC |
| Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS) | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the decrease in the intensity of autistic symptoms |
| Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the global clinical outcome |
| Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) | Baseline,1-month, 2-month and 3-months | Measure the global clinical outcome |
Countries
France
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORPierre Delion, MD, PhD
University Hospital, Lille
Outcome results
None listed