1. Tablet Computer as a Distraction Tool During Facial Laceration Repair: A Randomized Trial.
- Author
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Bryl AW, Bonsu B, Johnson AL, Pommert KBJ, Hollenbach KA, and Kanegaye JT
- Subjects
- Anxiety prevention & control, Child, Computers, Handheld, Emergency Service, Hospital, Humans, Parents, Lacerations surgery
- Abstract
Objectives: Child life interventions reduce the anxiety of medical procedures but are not always available in emergency departments. In this study, we determined the effect of parent-directed tablet computer use without child life direction on patient anxiety and on parent and suturing clinician experience during pediatric facial laceration repair., Methods: In a children's hospital emergency department, we enrolled children 2 to 12 years of age undergoing unsedated facial laceration repairs and randomized them to parent-directed tablet computer distraction or standard supportive care. We measured anxiety using the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress-Revised (OSBD-R) for 5 procedure phases from videotaped laceration repairs. We compared OSBD-R scores for 5 phases and weighted averages between the tablet and standard care groups. Parents and suturing clinicians completed surveys about their experiences after the procedures., Results: From April 2014 to July 2015, 77 patients (39 tablet, 38 standard) underwent repairs. Age, use of restraint, procedure duration, and number of sutures were similar between the 2 groups. The groups did not differ in procedure phase or weighted-average OSBD-R scores. Parents in the tablet group reported less personal anxiety compared with parents in the standard group (P = 0.01). In a post hoc subgroup analysis, subjects in the unrestrained tablet group had lower OSBD-R scores during the anesthetic injection phase than did subjects in the unrestrained standard group (P = 0.04). If restrained, subjects in the tablet group had higher OSBD-R scores during the anesthetic injection phase than did subjects in the standard group (P = 0.048)., Conclusions: Unrestrained children may benefit from parent-directed tablet computer distraction. Parents who operate the device are less anxious during their children's procedures., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2021
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