Evidence about the effectiveness and safety of dog visits in pediatric oncology is limited. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (n=26) of dog visits versus usual care among pediatric oncology inpatients. Psychological functioning and microbial load from hand wash samples were evaluated. Parental anxiety was a secondary outcome. We did not observe a difference in the adjusted mean present functioning score (−3.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], −12.4 to 6.4). The difference in microbial load on intervention versus control hands was −0.04 (95% CI, −0.60 to 0.52) log10 CFU/mL, with an upper 95% CI limit below the prespecified noninferiority margin. Anxiety was lower in parents of intervention versus control patients. We did not detect an effect of dog visits on functioning; however, our study was underpowered by low recruitment. Visits improved parental anxiety. With hand sanitization, visits did not increase hand microbial levels. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03471221.

中文翻译：

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儿科肿瘤患者动物辅助活动的随机对照试验：心理社会和微生物结果

关于带狗就诊在儿科肿瘤学中的有效性和安全性的证据有限。我们对儿科肿瘤住院患者的狗就诊与常规护理进行了一项随机对照试验（n=26）。评估了洗手样品的心理功能和微生物负荷。父母的焦虑是次要结果。我们没有观察到调整后的平均当前功能评分存在差异（−3.0；95% 置信区间 [CI]，−12.4 至 6.4）。干预组与对照组的微生物负荷差异为-0.04（95% CI，-0.60至0.52）log10 CFU/mL，95% CI上限低于预先指定的非劣效性界限。与对照组患者相比，干预组患者父母的焦虑程度较低。我们没有发现狗的探访对功能有影响；然而，由于招募人数少，我们的研究动力不足。探访改善了父母的焦虑。通过手部消毒，就诊并没有增加手部微生物水平。临床试验.gov NCT03471221。