Dog Therapy, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Patients
Conditions
Keywords
dog therapy
Brief summary
Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are well known for their therapeutic and environmental aggressiveness. Current recommendations for the management of critically ill patients, including the ABCDEF bundle, emphasize family engagement and liberal visitation policies for relatives and loved ones, with the aim of improving patient well-being during their ICU stay. In France, half of all households own a pet. This close relationship between humans and animals explains why animals have long been involved in medical care. The earliest known use of animals in medicine dates back to the 9th century in Belgium, where they were used to assist individuals with mental illness. More recently, companion animal-assisted interventions have attracted growing interest due to their potential diagnostic and/or therapeutic value, as they may enhance the patient experience during hospitalization. The feasibility, safety, and potential benefits of pet visitation policies have mainly been assessed in conventional hospital wards, but remain understudied in the ICU setting. In France, to our knowledge, only three hospitals have allowed pet visits in the ICU, and these occurred outside of any research protocol. The study primary objective is to assess the feasibility of companion dog visits in three medical-surgical ICUs.
Interventions
OTHERPet dog visit
Pet dog visit will take place during dedicated time slots, following prior verification of the dog's hygiene criteria. The dog may stay in the patient's room for a maximum of 15 minutes. After the visit, an evaluation questionnaire will be completed by the healthcare staff and by the relative who accompanied the dog. The patient's evaluation questionnaire will be completed at ICU discharge if patient is able to respond, or at most 28 days after inclusion if the patient remains in the ICU.
Sponsors
University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Adult patient aged 18 years or older, * Admitted to one of the participating ICUs at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital (Estaing Adult ICU, Montpied Medical-Surgical ICU, or Montpied Neuro-ICU) with an expected ICU stay of 48 hours or more, * Owner of a companion dog, with family members or relatives able to bring the dog to the ICU.
Exclusion criteria
Patient-related
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Success of the pet dog visit | Immediately after the intervention | The success of the pet dog visit is defined as the entry of the animal into the patient's ICU room under the conditions specified in the study protocol |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Patient-related safety events regarding infections | ICU discharge (within a maximum of 28 days) | New colonization with multidrug-resistant organisms (as assessed upon ICU admission and weekly thereafter); and new ICU-associated infections (as routinely screened according to standard care) |
| Dog-related events regarding aggression or behavioral issues | Immediately after the intervention | Any display of aggression or behavioral issues (as defined by the participating veterinarian, e.g., stupor, withdrawal, uncontrolled barking, urination or defecation) during the ICU visit, regardless of whether the dog ultimately entered the patient's room. |
| Staff-related events regarding inconvenience or harm | Immediately after the intervention | Any inconvenience or harm to a member of the healthcare team, regardless of nature (e.g., injury, hygiene issues, noise, or behavioral disturbance) during the ICU visit, regardless of whether the dog ultimately entered the patient's room. |
| Visit conditions in the case of success (excluding the safety criteria listed above) | Immediately after the intervention | Precise duration of the visit in the patient's room (maximum of 15 minutes, as per protocol), any direct contact between the patient and the dog, and the nature of such interaction. |
| Patient-related safety events regarding inconvenience or harm | Immediately after the intervention | Any inconvenience or harm to the patient, regardless of nature (including accidental dislodgement or removal of medical equipment/devices such as tracheal tubes, catheters, drains, etc.) |
| Pre-visit ICU staff satisfaction-related survey | Immediately before the intervention | Pre-visit survey of ICU staff (including all clinical and non-clinical personnel such as physicians, nurses, therapists, hygiene and cleaning staff, administrative assistants, and supervisors) to assess their opinions and any potential concerns regarding the visit. |
| Post-visit ICU staff satisfaction-related survey | Immediately after the intervention | Post-visit survey of the same ICU staff to assess their opinion and level of satisfaction. |
| Post-visit satisfaction survey of the patient's relative(s) who accompanied the dog | Immediately after the intervention | — |
| Patient satisfaction survey | ICU discharge (within a maximum of 28 days) | — |
| Reasons for potential visit failure (defined as the inability to bring the animal into the patient's ICU room) | Immediately before the intervention | Reasons are defined as : * Non-compliance with local hygiene guidelines and pre-/intra-visit checklists, as developed specifically for this protocol in collaboration with the hospital's infection control team (CLIN). * Non-compliance with local veterinary regulations and pre-visit veterinary checklists as defined in the study protocol (e.g., vaccination status, parasite control, and regular veterinary follow-up). * Patient agitation, defined as a Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) score \> 0 (monitored every 4 hours per standard practice), before or during the visit. * Any other reason preventing the animal from entering the ICU or the patient's room before or during the visit (including patient discharge from ICU before the visit could be scheduled). |
Countries
France
Contacts
Primary ContactLise Laclautre
Outcome results
None listed