Addressing Pain With Inpatient Integrative Medicine at a Large Children’s Hospital

Background. Pediatric integrative medicine (IM) includes the use of therapies not considered mainstream to help alleviate symptoms such as pain and anxiety. These therapies can be provided in the inpatient setting. Methods. This 10-week study involved the integration of acupuncture, biofeedback, clinical hypnotherapy, guided imagery, meditation, and music therapy to address pain in children admitted to a large US children’s hospital. Results. Of 51 patients enrolled, 60% of the patients, 66% of their mothers, and 56% of their fathers used CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) in the preceding 1 year. Although 51 families requested integrative therapies, only 18 patients received them because of inadequate provider availability. All recorded pain scores improved with integrative therapies. One parent reported a possible side effect of irritability in the child after clinical hypnotherapy while 5 children reported opiate side effects. All participating families interviewed responded that IM services helped their child’s pain and helped their child’s mood, and that our hospital should have a permanent IM consult service. Conclusion. Integrative therapies can be helpful to address pain without significant side effects. Further studies are needed to investigate the integration, cost, and cost-effectiveness of integrative therapies in pediatric hospitals.