Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units
Abstract Background Pets offer significant health benefits, from decreased cardiovascular risks to anxiety and post-traumatic stress improvements. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are not frequently practiced in the intensive care unit (ICU) for fear of health risk for critical patients because t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Critical Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s44158-023-00100-y |
| _version_ | 1797811181767884800 |
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| author | Marco Fiore Andrea Cortegiani Giansaverio Friolo Francesca Frigieri Covani Luigi Cardia Fausto Ferraro Daniela Alampi |
| author_facet | Marco Fiore Andrea Cortegiani Giansaverio Friolo Francesca Frigieri Covani Luigi Cardia Fausto Ferraro Daniela Alampi |
| author_sort | Marco Fiore |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Pets offer significant health benefits, from decreased cardiovascular risks to anxiety and post-traumatic stress improvements. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are not frequently practiced in the intensive care unit (ICU) for fear of health risk for critical patients because there is a hypothetical risk of zoonoses. Objectives This systematic review aimed to collect and summarize available evidence about AAI in the ICU. The Review questions were “Do AAI improve the clinical outcome of Critically Ill Patients admitted to ICUs?” and “Are the zoonotic infections the cause of negative prognosis?”. Methods The following databases were searched on 5 January 2023: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, and PubMed. All controlled studies (randomized controlled, quasi-experimental, and observational studies) were included. The systematic review protocol has been registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (CRD42022344539). Results A total of 1302 papers were retrieved, 1262 after the duplicate remotion. Of these, only 34 were assessed for eligibility and only 6 were included in the qualitative synthesis. In all the studies included the dog was the animal used for the AAI with a total of 118 cases and 128 controls. Studies have high variability, and no one has used increased survival or zoonotic risk as outcomes. Conclusions The evidence on the effectiveness of AAIs in ICU settings is scarce and no data are available on their safety. AAIs use in the ICU must be considered experimental and follow the related regulation until further data will be available. Given the potential positive impact on patient-centered outcomes, a research effort for high-quality studies seems to be justified. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:19:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3220cdab79374727a1242f4768f2fb7b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-3786 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:19:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Critical Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-3220cdab79374727a1242f4768f2fb7b2023-06-04T11:41:54ZengBMCJournal of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Critical Care2731-37862023-05-01311610.1186/s44158-023-00100-yRisks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care unitsMarco Fiore0Andrea Cortegiani1Giansaverio Friolo2Francesca Frigieri Covani3Luigi Cardia4Fausto Ferraro5Daniela Alampi6Department of Women, Child, and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania Luigi VanvitelliDepartment of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Science (Di.Chir.On.S.), University of PalermoSham Italia – Relyens groupDepartment of Intensive Care, Santa Maria Annunziata HospitalDepartment of Human Pathology of Adult and Childhood “Gaetano Barresi”, University of MessinaDepartment of Women, Child, and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania Luigi VanvitelliDepartment of Clinical and Surgical Translational Medicine, Sapienza UniversityAbstract Background Pets offer significant health benefits, from decreased cardiovascular risks to anxiety and post-traumatic stress improvements. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are not frequently practiced in the intensive care unit (ICU) for fear of health risk for critical patients because there is a hypothetical risk of zoonoses. Objectives This systematic review aimed to collect and summarize available evidence about AAI in the ICU. The Review questions were “Do AAI improve the clinical outcome of Critically Ill Patients admitted to ICUs?” and “Are the zoonotic infections the cause of negative prognosis?”. Methods The following databases were searched on 5 January 2023: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, and PubMed. All controlled studies (randomized controlled, quasi-experimental, and observational studies) were included. The systematic review protocol has been registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (CRD42022344539). Results A total of 1302 papers were retrieved, 1262 after the duplicate remotion. Of these, only 34 were assessed for eligibility and only 6 were included in the qualitative synthesis. In all the studies included the dog was the animal used for the AAI with a total of 118 cases and 128 controls. Studies have high variability, and no one has used increased survival or zoonotic risk as outcomes. Conclusions The evidence on the effectiveness of AAIs in ICU settings is scarce and no data are available on their safety. AAIs use in the ICU must be considered experimental and follow the related regulation until further data will be available. Given the potential positive impact on patient-centered outcomes, a research effort for high-quality studies seems to be justified.https://doi.org/10.1186/s44158-023-00100-yAnimal-assisted interventionsAnimal-assisted activitiesPet therapyAnimal-assisted therapyCritically ill patientIntensive care |
| spellingShingle | Marco Fiore Andrea Cortegiani Giansaverio Friolo Francesca Frigieri Covani Luigi Cardia Fausto Ferraro Daniela Alampi Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units Journal of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Critical Care Animal-assisted interventions Animal-assisted activities Pet therapy Animal-assisted therapy Critically ill patient Intensive care |
| title | Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units |
| title_full | Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units |
| title_fullStr | Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units |
| title_full_unstemmed | Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units |
| title_short | Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units |
| title_sort | risks and benefits of animal assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units |
| topic | Animal-assisted interventions Animal-assisted activities Pet therapy Animal-assisted therapy Critically ill patient Intensive care |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s44158-023-00100-y |
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