ArticlePloS one2019
Controlled clinical trial of canine therapy versus usual care to reduce patient anxiety in the emergency department.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03471429 (Canine-assisted ANxiety Reduction IN Emergency), which is not on this map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Canine-assisted ANxiety Reduction IN Emergency
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Animal-assisted therapy on psychological and physical outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Therapy Dogs for Anxiety in Children in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Outcomes of a controlled trial with visiting therapy dog teams on pain in adults in an emergency department.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Guidance for protocol content and reporting of dog-assisted interventions in randomised controlled trials: explanation and elaboration of the SPIRIT 2025 and CONSORT 2025 extensions.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- An overview of the benefits of animal-assisted interventions in medical and therapeutic contexts for human health: cognitive mechanisms, sensory perception and welfare considerations.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Review
- Comparative 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing of the Fecal Microbiome in Pet Dogs and Cats of Different Breeds in Dhaka City, Bangladesh: With Preliminary Insights Into Zoonotic Relevance.International journal of microbiology · 2026Article
- Pawsitive Care: Canine-Assisted Intervention for Anxiety in ICU Patients and Family Members: A Single-Center, Single-Arm Study.Critical care explorations · 2025Article
- Contemporary Nonpharmacological Strategies to Manage Preoperative Anxiety: Nonsystematic Review.Acta medica Lituanic · 2024Article
- Mobile Zoos and Other Itinerant Animal Handling Events: Current Status and Recommendations for Future Policies.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Zoonotic Risks of Sleeping with Pets.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Inclusion of older adults and reporting of consent processes in randomized controlled trials in the emergency department: A scoping review.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2022Article
- Canine-Assisted Interventions in Hospitals: Best Practices for Maximizing Human and Canine Safety.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2021Review
- Dogs Supporting Human Health and Well-Being: A Biopsychosocial Approach.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2021Review
- Lessons From Starting a New Subspecialty in a Rural State.Journal of patient experience · 2020Article
- A One Health Perspective on the Human-Companion Animal Relationship with Emphasis on Zoonotic Aspects.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Review
- Patient Opinion of Visiting Therapy Dogs in a Hospital Emergency Department.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The State of Animal-Assisted Interventions: Addressing the Contemporary Issues that will Shape the Future.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTest if therapy dogs reduce anxiety in emergency department (ED) patients.
methodsIn this controlled clinical trial (NCT03471429), medically stable, adult patients were approached if the physician believed that the patient had "moderate or greater anxiety." Patients were allocated on a 1:1 ratio to either 15 min exposure to a certified therapy dog and handler (dog), or usual care (control). Patient reported anxiety, pain and depression were assessed using a 0-10 scale (10 = worst). Primary outcome was change in anxiety from baseline (T0) to 30 min and 90 min after exposure to dog or control (T1 and T2 respectively); secondary outcomes were pain, depression and frequency of pain medication.
resultsAmong 93 patients willing to participate in research, 7 had aversions to dogs, leaving 86 (92%) were willing to see a dog six others met exclusion criteria, leaving 40 patients allocated to each group (dog or control). Median and mean baseline anxiety, pain and depression scores were similar between groups. With dog exposure, median anxiety decreased significantly from T0 to T1: 6 (IQR 4-9.75) to T1: 2 (0-6) compared with 6 (4-8) to 6 (2.5-8) in controls (P<0.001, for T1, Mann-Whitney U and unpaired t-test). Dog exposure was associated with significantly lower anxiety at T2 and a significant overall treatment effect on two-way repeated measures ANOVA for anxiety, pain and depression. After exposure, 1/40 in the dog group needed pain medication, versus 7/40 in controls (P = 0.056, Fisher's exact test).
conclusionsExposure to therapy dogs plus handlers significantly reduced anxiety in ED patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.