Paediatric anaesthesia & critical care
Evaluation of Play Distraction and Streamed Video Clips in Alleviating Anxiety Before Oral Premedication Among Pediatric Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Primary result · Anxiety (Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale)Result — go to the resultAdjusted mean difference −15.4 95% CI −18.2 to −12.6Authors' conclusion
Active distraction using play dough provides superior anxiolysis and improves premedication acceptance compared with passive video distraction and standard care in young children undergoing general anesthesia.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged 3–7 years, ASA I–III, undergoing elective surgery under GA with oral midazolam premedicationrandomised 1:1:1
- Participants
- 210 children
- Comparison
- Play dough or streamed video clips vs standard care
- Primary endpoint
- Preoperative anxiety (Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale)
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Anxiety (Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale) · Immediately after the intervention and 20 min after oral midazolam
Adjusted mean difference
−15.4
95% CI −18.2 to −12.6
P < 0.001
Play dough vs Streamed video clips
adjusted mean difference −15.4 (95% CI −18.2 to −12.6); P < 0.001
- Anxiety scores significantly lower in both intervention groups than in Standard care
- P < 0.001
Further findings
Acceptance of oral midazolam
- Acceptance of oral midazolam: p < 0.001
Parental anxiety and satisfaction
- Both intervention groups: lower parental anxiety and higher parental satisfaction than Standard care
Original publication
Evaluation of Play Distraction and Streamed Video Clips in Alleviating Anxiety Before Oral Premedication Among Pediatric Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Paediatr Anaesth. Published 6 September 2026. doi:10.
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