Effect of Distraction Therapy on Physiological Indices and Pain Intensity Caused by Intra-Spinal Injection of Chemotherapy Drugs in Cancerous Children: A Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: One of the non-pharmacological methods for relieving pain in children is to deploy cognitive-behavioral interventions such as distraction therapy. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of distraction on physiological indices and the severity of pain caused by intra-spinal injection of chemotherapy drugs in children with cancer. Methods: This was a clinical trial with a pretest-posttest design. The subjects included 89 cancerous children aged 6-12 years who had been admitted to the Hematology Ward of Ali Ibn Abitalib Hospital, Zahedan, Iran. The patients were divided into the intervention (n = 45) and control (n = 44) groups. In order to distract the children, they were asked to choose one out of three animated series based on their interest. They received the injection while watching the cartoon. Then, the severity of pain caused by intra-spinal injection of the chemotherapy medication, heart rate, and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) were evaluated. Results: Arterial oxygen saturation of the intervention group increased from 95.42 ± 4.53 before distraction to 98.04 ± 2.20 after distraction (P < 0.001). The mean heart rate in the intervention group decreased from 108.64 ± 13.36 before distraction to 104.00 ± 12.25 after distraction, suggesting a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.04). The mean changes in the heart rate were significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.001). Moreover, the mean pain intensity after distraction was significantly lower in the intervention group (35.11 ± 14.71) than in the control group (42.5 ± 16.44) (P = 0.02). Conclusions: Based on the results, distraction therapy can be effective in mitigating the severity of pain caused by intra-spinal injection and improving hemodynamic indices (heart rate and SaO2).

Effect of Applying Virtual Reality Glasses on Reducing Pain and Anxiety of Children Undergoing Chemotherapy

“…This finding is consistent with Wong et al (2020) (20) , who stated that leukemia is considered the most common type of cancer in childhood, Similarly, the study findings align with Yang & Cho (2019) (21) , who reported that nearly two-thirds of pediatric cancer patients suffer from hematologic malignancies. Additionally, the findings agree with Fooladi et al (2019) (22) , who found that more than two-thirds of pediatric patients were affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Regarding the clinical manifestations experienced by the studied children receiving chemotherapy, the current study highlights that more than half of them suffered from weight loss, and less than one-quarter experienced insomnia.…”

Distracción cognitiva y relajación progresiva: estudio piloto para la reducción de ansiedad de pacientes oncológicos

“…Lo anterior, se asemeja a los resultados de otros estudios recientes basados en intervenciones cognitivo conductuales, dentro de las cuales se emplearon ya sea la relajación o la distracción, y que buscaban entre otras cosas, la reducción del malestar subyacente de los tratamientos de quimioterapia con pacientes oncológicos (Orozco et al, 2016;Fazelniya et al, 2017;Larios et al, 2018;Fooladi et al, 2019;Mikaeili et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2019;Chirico et al, 2020). Sin embargo, el aspecto diferencial de la presente investigación apuntó a la combinación de las dos técnicas señaladas, con un objetivo en pág.…”

“…Larios et al (2018), reportan en sus resultados, que las técnicas de relajación aplicadas a pacientes bajo tratamiento de quimioterapia, lograron reducir síntomas de tensión, ansiedad y estrés percibidos. Investigaciones similares realizadas con niños con cáncer encontraron que la intervención basada en la distracción sirvió para disminuir el malestar emocional y el dolor causados por los procedimientos de quimioterapia (Fooladi et al, 2019;Mikaeili et al, 2019). A través de una intervención que incluía la reestructuración cognitiva y la relajación, dirigida a pacientes chinos que llevaban tratamiento de quimioterapia, Zhang et al (2019) concluyeron que estas técnicas favorecen la reducción del malestar.…”

Effect of Selected Auditory Interventions on Reducing Chemotherapy Induced Anxiety and Pain of Children with Cancer and their Parents’ Satisfaction

“…The study supported with Saged, Yusoff & Abdul Latif (2020) (58) who concluded that the Holy Quran sound is an effective treatment for spiritual and psychological issue that reduce anxiety and pain intensity. Also, Fooladi, et al, (2019) (61) concluded that distraction therapy can be effective in minimizing the severity of pain caused by intra-spinal injection of chemotherapy drugs in cancerous children and improving hemodynamic indices. Concerning anxiety level in the current study, there was lowering in the anxiety level posttest compared to pre-test in the Qur'an group compared to the Music group and there was a highly statistically significant difference between two groups post-test.…”