Effects of Pet Therapy on Anxiety, Pulse Rate and Saturation In Children Between 3 and 6 Years of Age Who Received Nebulizer Treatment in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Study

With nebulizer drug application, drugs such as bronchodilators, antibiotics, anticholinergics, corticosteroids are delivered directly to the lungs by inhalation. In nebulizer drug applications, the amount of drug, the method of administration, the duration, and the position of the patient are the most important criteria to be followed in order to administer the drug appropriately and effectively. Any disruption in any of these applications negatively affects the treatment process. Stress and anxiety experienced during nebulizer treatment in children can cause undesirable results in vital signs such as pulse. Treatment can therefore cause disruption. Although this application does not cause pain, being in a hospital environment and being an intervention applied by health professionals can cause anxiety in children. In addition, symptoms such as tachycardia are observed in children with some drugs administered via nebulizer. Many animal applications are used in animal-assisted therapies and it is emphasized that the stress of child patients decreases with these methods. In nebulizer drug use, the anxiety experienced by children due to both the mask and drug interactions applied in drug treatment and the changes in vital signs they encounter due to drug interactions have been tried to be supported with changing applications in the literature. However, when we look at the literature, we have not found any studies using pet therapy during nebulizer use.