NCT06121050

Can a Patient in Intensive Care be Visited by His or Her Pet?

Can a Patient in Intensive Care be Visited by His or Her Pet? Feasibility Study.

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Nearly half of all intensive care patients describe symptoms of anxiety and depression after a stay in the ICU, and one in five has genuine post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, improving patient experience has become a priority in the ICU, and particular attention is being paid to the need to recreate a familiar environment. Animal-mediated interventions have been developed for a number of patients over many years. These strategies are widely used with elderly patients, and patients with cognitive or psychiatric disorders, for whom the literature shows benefits on anxiety, mood or objective signs of stress. In the vast majority of experiments carried out to date, the animals (mainly dogs) were prepared and educated for contact with patients, and their handlers trained in this activity, rather like guide dogs. Visiting a care facility with a patient's own pet is rarely described. It may run up against obstacles related to the animal's behavior or infectious risks, but it is nevertheless authorized in many establishments.

Conditions

• Intensive Care Patients

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Pet visit	Intensive care patients visited by their pets for 20 minutes

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-07-03
• Primary completion: 2029-03-01
• Completion: 2029-06-01
• First posted: 2023-11-07
• Last updated: 2025-07-09

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: France