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Pets Enhancing Therapeutics in Intensive Care Units

NCT07159568 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 21

Last updated 2025-09-08

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are well known for their therapeutic and environmental aggressiveness. Current recommendations for the management of critically ill patients, including the "ABCDEF bundle," emphasize family engagement and liberal visitation policies for relatives and loved ones, with the aim of improving patient well-being during their ICU stay.

In France, half of all households own a pet. This close relationship between humans and animals explains why animals have long been involved in medical care. The earliest known use of animals in medicine dates back to the 9th century in Belgium, where they were used to assist individuals with mental illness. More recently, companion animal-assisted interventions have attracted growing interest due to their potential diagnostic and/or therapeutic value, as they may enhance the patient experience during hospitalization. The feasibility, safety, and potential benefits of pet visitation policies have mainly been assessed in conventional hospital wards, but remain understudied in the ICU setting. In France, to our knowledge, only three hospitals have allowed pet visits in the ICU, and these occurred outside of any research protocol.

The study primary objective is to assess the feasibility of companion dog visits in three medical-surgical ICUs.

Conditions

  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Patients
  • Dog Therapy

Interventions

OTHER

Pet dog visit

Pet dog visit will take place during dedicated time slots, following prior verification of the dog's hygiene criteria. The dog may stay in the patient's room for a maximum of 15 minutes. After the visit, an evaluation questionnaire will be completed by the healthcare staff and by the relative who accompanied the dog. The patient's evaluation questionnaire will be completed at ICU discharge if patient is able to respond, or at most 28 days after inclusion if the patient remains in the ICU.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Matthieu Jabaudon, MD, PhD · University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-09-15
Primary Completion
2027-09-15
Completion
2027-10-15

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07159568 on ClinicalTrials.gov