Not Yet RecruitingNot Applicable

Pets Enhancing Therapeutics in Intensive Care Units

France21 participantsStarted 2025-09-15

Plain-language summary

Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are well known for their therapeutic and environmental aggressiveness. Current recommendations for the management of critically ill patients, including the "ABCDEF bundle," emphasize family engagement and liberal visitation policies for relatives and loved ones, with the aim of improving patient well-being during their ICU stay. In France, half of all households own a pet. This close relationship between humans and animals explains why animals have long been involved in medical care. The earliest known use of animals in medicine dates back to the 9th century in Belgium, where they were used to assist individuals with mental illness. More recently, companion animal-assisted interventions have attracted growing interest due to their potential diagnostic and/or therapeutic value, as they may enhance the patient experience during hospitalization. The feasibility, safety, and potential benefits of pet visitation policies have mainly been assessed in conventional hospital wards, but remain understudied in the ICU setting. In France, to our knowledge, only three hospitals have allowed pet visits in the ICU, and these occurred outside of any research protocol. The study primary objective is to assess the feasibility of companion dog visits in three medical-surgical ICUs.

Who can participate

Age range

18 Years

Sex

ALL

See this in plain English?

AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patient aged 18 years or older, * Admitted to one of the participating ICUs at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital (Estaing Adult ICU, Montpied Medical-Surgical ICU, or Montpied Neuro-ICU) with an expected ICU stay of 48 hours or more, * Owner of a companion dog, with family members or relatives able to bring the dog to the ICU. Exclusion Criteria: Patient-related exclusion criteria: * Refusal by the patient or by their family/relatives to participate, * Lack of affiliation with the French national health insurance system (Sécurité Sociale), * Patient deprived of liberty or under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship, or judicial safeguard), * Pregnant or breastfeeding patient, * Agitated patient, defined as a Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) score \> 0 (monitored every four hours according to current standard practice), * Patient with immunosuppression, defined as: blood neutrophil count \< 0.5 G/L, ongoing or recent (within the past month) treatment for solid or hematologic cancer (e.g., chemotherapy, radiotherapy, cell therapy), or receiving immunosuppressive drugs (including organ transplant recipients or corticosteroid therapy for more than two weeks), * Patient with known colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria (as routinely assessed upon ICU admission and weekly thereafter), * Patient with one or more open wounds or injuries that cannot be covered with a dressing. Dog-related exclusion criteria: * Dog belonging to c…

Questions worth asking your doctor

Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.

1Based on my diagnosis and history, is this trial worth exploring for me — or is there a standard treatment we should try first?
2What does this trial's phase tell us about how much is already known about its safety and benefit?
3What would taking part actually involve for me — visits, tests, time, and travel?
4What are the known and possible risks or side effects I should weigh, and how would they be monitored?
5If this trial isn't the right fit, what other options or trials would you suggest I look into?

Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.

Questions for the trial coordinator

The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.

1What does taking part actually involve week to week — how many visits, where, and how long does each one take?
2What costs are covered by the study, and what might I have to pay for myself, including travel, parking, or time off work?
3What happens during screening, and what happens if the study team confirms I don't meet the criteria after those tests?
4Who pays for the scans, blood work, and other tests the trial requires — the study, my insurance, or me?
5How will being in the trial affect my regular care, and will my own doctor stay informed and involved?
6Can I leave the trial at any point if I change my mind, and what would happen to my care if I do?

A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.

What they're measuring

Success of the pet dog visit

Timeframe: Immediately after the intervention

Trial details

NCT IDNCT07159568

SponsorUniversity Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

Sponsor typeOTHER

Study typeINTERVENTIONAL

Primary completion2027-09-15

Contact for this trial

Lise Laclautre

04.73.75.49.63 promo_interne_drci@chu-clermontferrand.fr

View on ClinicalTrials.gov More Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Patients trials