Nonpharmacological Interventions for Acute Wound Care Distress in Pediatric Patients With Burn Injury: A Systematic Review

Acute wound care distress among burn-injured pediatric patients is of major clinical concern. This systematic review evaluates the benefits of nonpharmacological interventions to reduce this distress. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched using appropriate search terms for articles reporting overall psychological effects of pediatric burn injury. Key references were hand-searched. Searches yielded approximately 900 unique citations. Two authors reviewed each abstract, and 198 articles were retrieved, of which 34 were selected for full review. Of these 34 articles, 12 focused on acute wound care distress and nonpharmacological interventions. Critical appraisal of individual studies was conducted using the methods of the US Preventive Services Task Force, with a particular focus on assessing nonrandomized controlled trial designs. Twelve articles were reviewed and categorized according to intervention types child mediated (CM), parent mediated (PM), and health care provider mediated (HCPM). Using the US Preventive Services Task Force criteria, 7 of the 12 articles were rated "fair" or "good" and five were rated as having "poor" internal validity. The HCPM and CM intervention categories reported patient benefit. The two PM studies were both rated "poor." Studies of nonpharmacological interventions to reduce pediatric burn distress were few, with a significant proportion (5/12) having concerns about internal validity. Patient benefit was reported for HCPM and CM interventions. Research designs incorporating control groups in studies that are adequately powered are needed. Additional research is required in the area of PM interventions in particular.