Data from: Controlled clinical trial of canine therapy versus usual care to reduce patient anxiety in the emergency department

Objective: Test if therapy dogs can reduce anxiety in emergency department
(ED) patients. Methods: In this controlled clinical trial (NCT03471429),
medically stable, adult patients were approached if the physician believed
that the patient had “moderate or greater anxiety.” Patients were
allocated on a 1:1 ratio to either 15 min exposure to a certified therapy
dog and handler (dog), or usual care (control). Patient reported anxiety,
pain and depression were assessed using a 0-10 scale (10=worst). Primary
outcome was change in anxiety from baseline (T0) to 30 min and 90 min
after exposure to dog or control (T1 and T2 respectively); secondary
outcomes were pain, depression and frequency of pain medication. Results:
Among 98 patients willing to participate in research, 7 had aversions to
dogs, leaving 91 (93%) were willing to see a dog; 40 patients were
allocated to each group (dog or control). No data were normally
distributed. Median baseline anxiety, pain and depression were similar
between groups. With dog exposure, anxiety decreased significantly from T0
to T1: 6 (IQR 4-9.75) to T1: 2 (0-6) compared with 6 (4-8) to 6 (2.5-8) in
controls (P<0.001, for T1, Mann-Whitney U). Dog exposure was
associated with significantly lower anxiety at T2 and a significant
overall treatment effect on two-way repeated measures ANOVA for anxiety,
pain and depression. After exposure, 1/40 in the dog group needed pain
medication, versus 7/40 in controls (P=0.056, Fisher’s). Conclusions:
Exposure to therapy dogs plus handlers significantly reduced anxiety in ED
patients.