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Cerebral PalsyCLOWN-TOXNCT03149263

Evaluation of the Effect of the Presence Of Clowns on Pain and Anxiety Seen During Injections Botulinum Toxin in Child

An observational study of Cerebral Palsy and Muscle Hypertonia, run by University Hospital, Brest at 1 site in France.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

In children requiring botulinum toxin injections, improving supervisory procedures of injection sessions to reduce pain and improve the experience of this invasive procedure is needed. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 2 to 18 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Cerebral Palsy, Muscle Hypertonia
What is being tested?
distraction
How many people
80 participants
Where
1 siteFrance
Study dates
10 Nov 2015to 20 Mar 2017
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 2 to 18 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult

Study population: Children receiving botulinum toxin in local pediatric day hospital

Who may be able to join

  • Children aged 1 to 18 years
  • Children with a neurogenic spasticity (cerebral palsy, spastic paraplegia, head trauma ...)
  • Children with muscular pains orthopedic disorders (POPB, equino varus, ..)
  • Botulinum Toxin Injection functional target, improvement in pain or amplitudes
  • First injection or repeated injections of toxins
  • No opposition formalized

Who cannot join

  • Children between 0 and 1 year
  • Opposition formalized to the data use

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

France1 site
  • Houx

    Brest, 29609

Other trials in France

About this study

In children requiring botulinum toxin injections, improving supervisory procedures of injection sessions to reduce pain and improve the experience of this invasive procedure is needed. The intervention of medical clowns seems very interesting in this goal, but its effectiveness has not been proven within the botulinum toxin injections. The objective of the study is to evaluate in terms of profit the presence or absence of clowns during a session of botulinum toxins by determining their impact on pain and anxiety felt among children and their carers

Read the detailed description

In the literature, the presence of clowns allows a major reduction of pain and anxiety in children and their accompanying in various medical and hospital surgical settings. A previous study on a population of 60 children was conducted to assess the impact of the presence of clowns during the production of botulinum toxin injection in children but not confirming the benefit of their participation in carrying this medical procedure. The results of this study are opposed to current scientific data. Their impact clown assessment criteria seem however insufficient to actually support the conclusion as to the ineffectiveness of distractibility clowns in this specific medical procedure iterative injection of botulinum toxin.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the pain and anxiety before and after the botulinum toxin injection session in children and hetero-assessment of pain and anxiety by accompanying depending on the presence or not of clown. The second objectives are the evaluation of the course of the session by the injector doctor, the accompanying of the child and to evaluated the effect of distraction during the toxin of the clown or the usual distraction (music, movie...)

Being tested
distraction
Keywords
botulinum toxin, anxiety reduction, pain reduction, medical clowns, distraction
Medical subject headings
Cerebral Palsy, Muscle Hypertonia

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • distractionBehavioural

    Children will all benefit toxin injections with the same protocol. Only the distraction will be different during the session: either the children will have a distraction realized by the team of clowns / or children will benefit a classic distraction (TV, music, ...)

Study groups in NCT03149263
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Toxin-clownBotulinum toxin injections are carried out according to the usual injection protocol. 40 children will be included into the arm toxin with clown distraction. During injections, clowns take information with the doctor before the procedure on the child's pathology, the cognitive level, the number of injections. During injections, clowns fit and distraction can change depending on the reaction of the child to their intervention.
Receives: Behavioral: distraction
Toxin-usual distraction40 children will be included into the arm "toxin with usual distraction" The usual distraction involves discussion with the child, and its accompanying its interests, to define the use of music, songs, television, video games or other distraction during the session. If the first distraction doesn't work, it's possible to switch to another distraction during injections
Receives: Behavioral: distraction

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Pain assessment by a hetero evaluator at the time of toxin injections

    Evaluation of the pain child during botulinum toxin with the FLACC (Face Legs Activity Cry Consolability) by a hetero evaluator

    Measured: 1 hour

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Evaluation of anxiety before the injections of botulinum toxins by the child and assessment by a accompanying person

    evaluation of the anxiety before the botulinum toxin by the use of a VAS anxiety scale for the children and their accompanying person

    Measured: 1 hour

  2. Evaluation of pain and anxiety after the botulinum toxin injection session in children and the accompanying person depending on the presence or not of clowns

    evaluation of the anxiety after the botulinum toxin by the use of a VAS anxiety scale for the children and their accompanying person

    Measured: 1 hour

  3. Evaluation of the course of the session of botulinum toxin by the injector doctor

    Evaluation of the progress of the botulinum toxins session by the injector doctor on a scale of 0-4 (0 bad conduct and 4 very smooth conduct of the session)

    Measured: 1 hour

  4. Evaluation of the course of the session of botulinum toxin by the accompanying person

    Evaluation of the progress of the botulinum toxins session by the accompanying person on a scale of 0-4 (0 bad conduct and 4 very smooth conduct of the session)

    Measured: 1 hour

  5. Evaluation of the effect of distraction during the session of botulinum toxin with the usual distraction (music, movie, ...) or the participation of the clown(s) distraction

    Evaluation of the effect of distraction establishment on a scale of 0 to 4 estimated in the accompanying person (0 bad conduct and 4 very smooth conduct of the session)

    Measured: 1 hour

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted11 May 2017
  2. Study start10 Nov 2015
  3. Primary completion20 Mar 2017
  4. Study completion20 Mar 2017

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
80 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03149263
Sponsor's protocol ID
CLOWN-TOX
Acronym
CLOWN-TOX
Status last verified
May 2017
First submitted
12 Aug 2016
Last updated
11 May 2017
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Vagnoli L, Caprilli S, Robiglio A, Messeri A. Clown doctors as a treatment for preoperative anxiety in children: a randomized, prospective study. Pediatrics. 2005 Oct;116(4):e563-7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-0466.

    PubMed 16199685
  • Hansen LK, Kibaek M, Martinussen T, Kragh L, Hejl M. Effect of a clown's presence at botulinum toxin injections in children: a randomized, prospective study. J Pain Res. 2011;4:297-300. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S23199. Epub 2011 Sep 21.

    PubMed 22003302
  • Molenaers G, Schorkhuber V, Fagard K, Van Campenhout A, De Cat J, Pauwels P, Ortibus E, De Cock P, Desloovere K. Long-term use of botulinum toxin type A in children with cerebral palsy: treatment consistency. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2009 Sep;13(5):421-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2008.07.008. Epub 2008 Nov 1.

    PubMed 18977158
  • Schroeder AS, Berweck S, Lee SH, Heinen F. Botulinum toxin treatment of children with cerebral palsy - a short review of different injection techniques. Neurotox Res. 2006 Apr;9(2-3):189-96. doi: 10.1007/BF03033938.

    PubMed 16785117
  • Brochard S, Blajan V, Lempereur M, Le Moine P, Peudenier S, Lefranc J, Remy-Neris O. Effectiveness of nitrous oxide and analgesic cream (lidocaine and prilocaine) for prevention of pain during intramuscular botulinum toxin injections in children. Ann Phys Rehabil Med. 2009 Dec;52(10):704-16. doi: 10.1016/j.rehab.2009.09.001. Epub 2009 Oct 6.

    PubMed 19854692
  • Bayon-Mottu M, Gambart G, Deries X, Tessiot C, Richard I, Dinomais M. Pain during injections of botulinum toxin in children: Influence of the localization technique. Ann Phys Rehabil Med. 2014 Dec;57(9-10):578-86. doi: 10.1016/j.rehab.2014.09.010. Epub 2014 Oct 8.

    PubMed 25454692
  • Houx L, Dubois A, Brochard S, Pons C. Do clowns attenuate pain and anxiety undergoing botulinum toxin injections in children? Ann Phys Rehabil Med. 2020 Oct;63(5):393-399. doi: 10.1016/j.rehab.2018.12.004. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

    PubMed 30708069

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Cerebral Palsy and Muscle Hypertonia, run by University Hospital, Brest at 1 site in France.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 May 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Pain assessment by a hetero evaluator at the time of toxin injections (time frame: 1 hour). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03149263, which also lists 7 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 May 2017.

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