Cars overtake drugs to drive away children's fears of surgery

VALENCIENNES, France - Wearing a big grin, Marame clambers into the small electric sports car and drives off - to the operating theater.

The 5-year-old girl is a patient at the public hospital in the northern French city of Valenciennes, which has started using toys rather than drugs to alleviate children's fears of surgery.

The new scheme for children aged 18 months to 8 years is based on similar programs in the United States and Australia.

The playful approach, implemented in December, has wiped out the need for anti-anxiety medication often administered before an operation, according to the hospital.

"It allows (children) to arrive in the operating theater in a fun manner and avoids the stress associated with the context," said anesthetist Fanny Defrancq.

Sat on a hospital bed, Marame looked worried ahead of her surgery to remove a metal pin inserted into her arm after she broke her elbow.

But then a nurse came in and led her to three small vehicles parked in the corridor.

"Which one do you prefer?" the nurse asked Marame, dressed in a blue hospital gown and with a white cap covering her hair.

After carefully inspecting the models and testing out their horns, the little girl got behind the wheel of a black racing car and cruised off.

A remote control in hand, a medical staff member steered her down hallways and around corners all the way to the operating theater.

"She doesn't even take any notice of me," said her mother, Hassiba Mazouzi, after giving her a hug.

"Last time (she went into surgery) I cried," Mazouzi said. "But now, ... she went without crying, without any problem. So frankly, I'm happy too."

'You're the hero'

Doctor Nabil El Beki, who heads the emergency unit in Valenciennes, said the program is not a "game".

A study is under way to "scientifically assess" the benefits of the project, he said.

"We know that anxiolytic drugs reduce anxiety but they also intensify the anesthetic and delay the waking-up process. Avoiding them is better for the recovery," he said.

Other clinics in France are also experimenting with ways of avoiding pre-surgery medication for children.

A hospital in the western city of Rennes has developed an app called "You're the hero" for children aged 3 to 10.

The young patients search for hidden objects in a virtual room, while they are being brought to the operating theater on a stretcher.

The method has seen a major drop in children's anxiety and led to an 80 percent decrease in the use of medication, the Rennes hospital said.

"Children's self-evaluation with emoticons showed that anxiety curves were very low and stable," anesthetist Severine Delahaye said.

Agence France-presse

(China Daily 03/18/2018 page10)