Abstract
Evidence about the effectiveness and safety of dog visits in pediatric oncology is limited. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (n=26) of dog visits versus usual care among pediatric oncology inpatients. Psychological functioning and microbial load from hand wash samples were evaluated. Parental anxiety was a secondary outcome. We did not observe a difference in the adjusted mean present functioning score (-3.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], -12.4 to 6.4). The difference in microbial load on intervention versus control hands was -0.04 (95% CI, -0.60 to 0.52) log10 CFU/mL, with an upper 95% CI limit below the prespecified noninferiority margin. Anxiety was lower in parents of intervention versus control patients. We did not detect an effect of dog visits on functioning; however, our study was underpowered by low recruitment. Visits improved parental anxiety. With hand sanitization, visits did not increase hand microbial levels. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03471221.
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