Landier, W., & Tse, A.M. (2010). Use of complementary and alternative medical interventions for the management of procedure-related pain, anxiety, and distress in pediatric oncology: An integrative review. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 25, 566–579.
To perform an integrative review of four electronic databases to determine the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) interventions, either alone or as an adjunct to pharmacologic therapy, in alleviating procedure-related pain, anxiety, and distress in children and adolescents with cancer
Databases searched were MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Database.
Search keywords were procedure, pain, anxiety, distress, childhood cancer, pediatric oncology, CAM, and complementary therapies.
Studies were included in the review if
Excluded from the review were studies that reported on surgical procedures (except percutaneous access to an implanted vascular device) and on the anxiety and distress of a parent.
Results suggest that mind-body intervention may be effective, alone or as an adjunct to pharmacologic interventions, in managing procedure-related pain, anxiety, and distress in pediatric patients with cancer. In this population the three most commonly studied mind-body modalities were distraction, hypnosis, and imagery.
Although multiple studies demonstrated the value of CAM interventions, many of the studies were small and incorporated multiple CAM therapies as a single intervention. These types of interventions may be useful, particularly when used in combination with pharmacologic agents, but further research is needed to identify which interventions were valuable.