Addressing Pain With Inpatient Integrative Medicine at a Large Children’s Hospital

Abstract

Background. Pediatric integrative medicine (IM) includes the use of therapies not considered mainstream to help alleviate symptoms such as pain and anxiety. These therapies can be provided in the inpatient setting. Methods. This 10-week study involved the integration of acupuncture, biofeedback, clinical hypnotherapy, guided imagery, meditation, and music therapy to address pain in children admitted to a large US children’s hospital. Results. Of 51 patients enrolled, 60% of the patients, 66% of their mothers, and 56% of their fathers used CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) in the preceding 1 year. Although 51 families requested integrative therapies, only 18 patients received them because of inadequate provider availability. All recorded pain scores improved with integrative therapies. One parent reported a possible side effect of irritability in the child after clinical hypnotherapy while 5 children reported opiate side effects. All participating families interviewed responded that IM services helped their child’s pain and helped their child’s mood, and that our hospital should have a permanent IM consult service. Conclusion. Integrative therapies can be helpful to address pain without significant side effects. Further studies are needed to investigate the integration, cost, and cost-effectiveness of integrative therapies in pediatric hospitals.

Comparative Effectiveness of Pediatric Integrative Medicine: A Pragmatic Cluster-Controlled Trial

“…These findings are consistent with other PIM studies. In a 10-week study carried out at large children’s hospital to assess a pilot integrative medicine inpatient consult service, 18 patients received the integrative service during their hospitalization [ 29 ]. All patients noted a decrease in their pain scores after receiving the integrative therapies, and 100% ( n = 15) of the interviewed families felt that the service helped both their child’s pain and mood while hospitalized [ 29 ].…”

“…The PIM service has been described previously [ 29 ]. Briefly, this arm received usual care in conjunction with PIM therapies including acupuncture, Reiki, and massage therapy.…”

“…Pediatric integrative medicine (PIM) applies this approach to pediatric populations [ 28 ]. While many pediatric hospitals across North America have begun to integrate complementary therapies into conventional care [ 29 ], there is a lack of conclusive evidence around the safety and effectiveness of this approach.…”

Children's cancer pain in a world of the opioid epidemic: Challenges and opportunities

“…A multidisciplinary approach that incorporates integrative medicine (IM) modalities with conventional strategies is needed to adequately address cancer pain management . IM strategies include evidence‐based strategies for pain such as guided imagery, biofeedback, and acupuncture.…”

“…A multidisciplinary approach that incorporates integrative medicine (IM) modalities with conventional strategies is needed to adequately address cancer pain management. 48 IM strategies include evidencebased strategies for pain such as guided imagery, biofeedback, and acupuncture. Although reports suggest the use of these strategies by pediatric oncology patients is high, 49 efficacy data for some IM strategies are lacking, and long-term effectiveness has not been well established, particularly in the pediatric population.…”