A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative Assistant

Service dogs are beneficial in providing assistance to people with multiple types of disabilities and medical disorders including visual impairment, physical disabilities, seizure disorders, diabetes, and mental illness. Some service animals have been trained as a screening tool for cancer. We revie...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shannon Tew, Brad M. Taicher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Pediatrics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9013520
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849309196423528448
author Shannon Tew
Brad M. Taicher
author_facet Shannon Tew
Brad M. Taicher
author_sort Shannon Tew
collection DOAJ
description Service dogs are beneficial in providing assistance to people with multiple types of disabilities and medical disorders including visual impairment, physical disabilities, seizure disorders, diabetes, and mental illness. Some service animals have been trained as a screening tool for cancer. We review a case involving a 6-year-old female with a history of mast cell mediator release and immediate hypersensitivity due to the urticaria pigmentosa variant of cutaneous mastocytosis who underwent a cystourethroscopy. Her service dog, JJ, who would alert to mast cell mediator release, was used throughout the perioperative course as a means of anxiolysis and comfort and to monitor for mast cell mediator release. This case presents an example of a service dog used in a family-care model in the field of anesthesiology and provides a unique example of using a service dog as an additional monitor to alert the care team for impending mast cell mediator release.
format Article
id doaj-art-048bf590db474493922a884cf95197cc
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-6803
2090-6811
language English
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Case Reports in Pediatrics
spelling doaj-art-048bf590db474493922a884cf95197cc2025-08-20T03:54:15ZengWileyCase Reports in Pediatrics2090-68032090-68112016-01-01201610.1155/2016/90135209013520A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative AssistantShannon Tew0Brad M. Taicher1Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USADuke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USAService dogs are beneficial in providing assistance to people with multiple types of disabilities and medical disorders including visual impairment, physical disabilities, seizure disorders, diabetes, and mental illness. Some service animals have been trained as a screening tool for cancer. We review a case involving a 6-year-old female with a history of mast cell mediator release and immediate hypersensitivity due to the urticaria pigmentosa variant of cutaneous mastocytosis who underwent a cystourethroscopy. Her service dog, JJ, who would alert to mast cell mediator release, was used throughout the perioperative course as a means of anxiolysis and comfort and to monitor for mast cell mediator release. This case presents an example of a service dog used in a family-care model in the field of anesthesiology and provides a unique example of using a service dog as an additional monitor to alert the care team for impending mast cell mediator release.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9013520
spellingShingle Shannon Tew
Brad M. Taicher
A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative Assistant
Case Reports in Pediatrics
title A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative Assistant
title_full A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative Assistant
title_fullStr A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative Assistant
title_full_unstemmed A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative Assistant
title_short A Dog Is a Doctor’s Best Friend: The Use of a Service Dog as a Perioperative Assistant
title_sort dog is a doctor s best friend the use of a service dog as a perioperative assistant
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9013520
work_keys_str_mv AT shannontew adogisadoctorsbestfriendtheuseofaservicedogasaperioperativeassistant
AT bradmtaicher adogisadoctorsbestfriendtheuseofaservicedogasaperioperativeassistant
AT shannontew dogisadoctorsbestfriendtheuseofaservicedogasaperioperativeassistant
AT bradmtaicher dogisadoctorsbestfriendtheuseofaservicedogasaperioperativeassistant