Clown Care for Botulinum Toxin (BTX) - Full Text View

Purpose

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) undergo multiple painful procedures such as Botulinum toxin (BTX) injections that are administered several times a year. While clown care reduces preoperative anxiety, its effect on painful procedures has not been assessed. We hypothesized that medical clowning reduces pain and anxiety during BTX injections.

Condition	Intervention
Cerebral Palsy Pain	Other: standard Behavioral: clown care

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Open Label Primary Purpose: Treatment

Resource links provided by NLM:

MedlinePlus related topics: Anxiety Cerebral Palsy Paralysis

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by Shaare Zedek Medical Center:

Primary Outcome Measures:

Visual Analogue Scale [ Time Frame: sevral minutes before and after BTX injections ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Visual Analogue Scale by the child before after BTX injection. Parent rated the pain if the child was younger than 5 years or cognitively impaired

Enrollment:	25
Study Start Date:	January 2010
Study Completion Date:	June 2011
Primary Completion Date:	May 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Arms	Assigned Interventions
Sham Comparator: Standard intervention Preparation and information: the doctor and nurse explained the steps of the procedure: placing EMG electrodes, wiping the area with an alcohol swab, cooling with ethyl chloride, needle insertion into the muscle and the importance of EMG noise. Memory change and positive reinforcement: medical staff present spoke to the child positively and offered prizes, among which the child could choose. Volunteer attendance: as part of the control session, receiving no particular instructions in relation to the child's potential pain during the procedure.	Other: standard Preparation and information regarding the BTX procedure: placing EMG electrodes, wiping the area with an alcohol swab, cooling with ethyl chloride, needle insertion into the muscle and the importance of EMG noise. Injection performed under EMG guidance. Two sites of injection per muscle were used to enhance diffusion. The child could often see the procedure when the upper limb was treated but not during lower limb injections. Memory change and positive reinforcement: Following the BTX injection, the medical staff present spoke to the child positively and offered prizes Volunteer attendance: In the daycare unit there are young volunteers routinely present, assisting with technical aspects of the procedure.
Experimental: clown care Cognitive coping: encouraging a child to cope with the challenge. Imagery: a cognitive technique used to encourage the child to cope with the pain and distress of the procedure by imagining a pleasant object or experience Empowerment: the child is made to feel empowered by controlling the actions of the clown Reflecting emotions: the clown, sensing the state of the child, plays it out in an exaggerated fashion.	Behavioral: clown care Cognitive coping Imagery Empowerment Reflecting emotions

Arms

Assigned Interventions

Sham Comparator: Standard intervention

Preparation and information: the doctor and nurse explained the steps of the procedure: placing EMG electrodes, wiping the area with an alcohol swab, cooling with ethyl chloride, needle insertion into the muscle and the importance of EMG noise.

Memory change and positive reinforcement: medical staff present spoke to the child positively and offered prizes, among which the child could choose.

Volunteer attendance: as part of the control session, receiving no particular instructions in relation to the child's potential pain during the procedure.

Other: standard

Preparation and information regarding the BTX procedure: placing EMG electrodes, wiping the area with an alcohol swab, cooling with ethyl chloride, needle insertion into the muscle and the importance of EMG noise.

Injection performed under EMG guidance. Two sites of injection per muscle were used to enhance diffusion. The child could often see the procedure when the upper limb was treated but not during lower limb injections.

Memory change and positive reinforcement: Following the BTX injection, the medical staff present spoke to the child positively and offered prizes Volunteer attendance: In the daycare unit there are young volunteers routinely present, assisting with technical aspects of the procedure.

Experimental: clown care

Cognitive coping: encouraging a child to cope with the challenge. Imagery: a cognitive technique used to encourage the child to cope with the pain and distress of the procedure by imagining a pleasant object or experience Empowerment: the child is made to feel empowered by controlling the actions of the clown Reflecting emotions: the clown, sensing the state of the child, plays it out in an exaggerated fashion.

Behavioral: clown care

Cognitive coping Imagery Empowerment Reflecting emotions

Detailed Description:

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty five children with CP (mean age 7.4±4.8 years; 19 boys), enrolled in this randomized controlled study underwent BTX injections (3±1.7 muscles per procedure). Prior to treatment each child was assigned to receive either medical clown intervention (study) or standard care (control). Outcome measure was the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) as reported by the child (n =14) or parent (n =11) prior and subsequent to each procedure.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	2 Years to 18 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Children with CP for whom BTX treatment was indicated

Exclusion Criteria:

Children with minimal communication skills (n =1)
Autistic spectrum disorders (n =1)
Severe anxiety requiring general anesthesia (n =1)

Contacts and Locations

No Contacts or Locations Provided

More Information

No publications provided

Responsible Party:	Hilla Ben Pazi, Shaare Zedek Medical Center
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT01377883 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	CL_BTX2011
Study First Received:	June 19, 2011
Last Updated:	June 21, 2011
Health Authority:	Israel: Minstery of health

Keywords provided by Shaare Zedek Medical Center:

Needle, Anxiety, Pain, Clowns

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Cerebral Palsy
Brain Damage, Chronic
Brain Diseases
Central Nervous System Diseases
Nervous System Diseases

Botulinum Toxins
Anti-Dyskinesia Agents
Central Nervous System Agents
Therapeutic Uses
Pharmacologic Actions

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 21, 2013