Apple's iPad an effective sedative for children about to undergo surgery, study finds

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in iPad
A research study presented Tuesday claims that iPads are just as effective as medicinal sedatives for reducing pre-surgical anxiety from nervousness about the procedure compounded by parental separation on children between ages 4 and 10.




The study on the effects of pre-op iPad distraction was presented at the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists in Hong Kong based on research by Dr. Dominique Chassard, EPICIME, Hopital Mere Enfant, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron, France and his colleagues.

The control group of patients was given the standard sedative for care, with the experimental group given an iPad 20 minutes before general anesthesia. Children's anxiety was measured four times, three before the procedure and one afterwards in the post-surgical unit.

Examination of the raw data proved that parental and child anxiety levels for both the medicated and iPad-using groups were similar, with progression at the same rate and magnitude up the evaluation scale. Discussions and more direct observations told a slightly different story.

"Our study showed that child and parental anxiety before anaesthesia are equally blunted by midazolam or use of the iPad," Dr. Chassard said. "However, the quality of induction of anasthesia, as well as parental satisfaction, were judged better in the iPad group."

The iPad is widely used in clinical settings for record keeping and data entry, but the pre-anesthesia study appears to be the first of its kind.

Other non-conventional medical uses of the iPad have been for post-stroke therapy, as an augmented reality surgical assistant, as well as a general coping tool for long-term illness.
lolliver

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    lolliverlolliver Posts: 493member
    I don't find this surprising at all. My daughter has very curly hair that tends to get tangled during the day. The easiest way to have her sit still while her hair is brushed is by letting her use an iPad.

    When brushing her hair without the iPad she complains if the brush gets stuck. But never does when using the iPad.
    edited August 2016 DeelronRayz2016jony0
  • Reply 2 of 9
    A similar study showed that 98% of kids using Android and Windows tablets asked the doctors to put them out of their misery.
    lolliverbrakkenpscooter63jony0viclauyyc
  • Reply 3 of 9
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    brakken said:
    Um, this is news? 'Distracting children from horror of surgery makes them not think about surgery.' WTF.
    AI seems to be leaking IQ recently...
    They're comparing this to MEDICATION.

    So, you intuitively thought that medication was less (or as) effective than the Ipad...
    Well, good for you...
     And why would anyone believe you then...
    Run the actual test in the real world to see if its actually true.

    Science relies on facts, not gut feeling.
    edited August 2016 lolliverDeelronblastdoorpscooter63afrodri
  • Reply 4 of 9
    qwweraqwwera Posts: 281member
    NyQuil is cheaper 
    viclauyyc
  • Reply 5 of 9
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    foggyhill said:
    brakken said:
    Um, this is news? 'Distracting children from horror of surgery makes them not think about surgery.' WTF.
    AI seems to be leaking IQ recently...
    They're comparing this to MEDICATION.

    So, you intuitively thought that medication was less (or as) effective than the Ipad...
    Well, good for you...
     And why would anyone believe you then...
    Run the actual test in the real world to see if its actually true.

    Science relies on facts, not gut feeling.
    If this had anything to do with science, they would have also had a control group with Android based tablets.
    viclauyyc
  • Reply 6 of 9
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    cnocbui said:
    foggyhill said:
    brakken said:
    Um, this is news? 'Distracting children from horror of surgery makes them not think about surgery.' WTF.
    AI seems to be leaking IQ recently...
    They're comparing this to MEDICATION.

    So, you intuitively thought that medication was less (or as) effective than the Ipad...
    Well, good for you...
     And why would anyone believe you then...
    Run the actual test in the real world to see if its actually true.

    Science relies on facts, not gut feeling.
    If this had anything to do with science, they would have also had a control group with Android based tablets.

    The conclusion of the study:

    Use of iPads or other tablet devices is a non-pharmacologic tool which can reduce perioperative stress without any sedative effect in paediatric ambulatory surgery.

    I imagine they used iPads because they had them available, and because the purpose of the study was to find if tablets could be used to calm children before surgery, not to test the level of butt-hurt an article title can induce in closet fanboys. 

    jeffharris2old4funwhy-jony0
  • Reply 7 of 9
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    cnocbui said:
    foggyhill said:
    They're comparing this to MEDICATION.

    So, you intuitively thought that medication was less (or as) effective than the Ipad...
    Well, good for you...
     And why would anyone believe you then...
    Run the actual test in the real world to see if its actually true.

    Science relies on facts, not gut feeling.
    If this had anything to do with science, they would have also had a control group with Android based tablets.
    That's just a different research question. 

    Comparing iPad vs. Medication is a perfectly reasonable/valid research question. 

    Comparing iPad vs Android is also a perfectly reasonable/valid research question. 

    Doing a three-arm study with iPad, Android, and Medication is also a perfectly reasonable/valid research question.

    Just because somebody does a study that answers a RQ different than the one of greatest interest to you, doesn't mean it isn't science. 
  • Reply 8 of 9
    Lets face it, iPads and an effective sedative for children in any given situation! 
  • Reply 9 of 9
    Red herring this has nothing to do with it being a iPad. Any screen device with similar capabilities will do the same things
    cnocbui
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