Summary: Research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress reveals that medical clowns can significantly shorten hospital stays and reduce intravenous antibiotic use for children with pneumonia.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Children hospitalized with pneumonia may recover faster and go home sooner when visited by medical clowns, according to new research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria. The study found that children who received visits from medical clowns had shorter hospital stays and needed less time on intravenous antibiotics compared to those who received standard care alone.
Why it matters: This research highlights a non-pharmacological intervention that could improve outcomes for children with pneumonia, potentially reducing stress on families and healthcare systems while promoting faster recovery.
The power of laughter in healing
Medical clowns are not just entertainers in colorful costumes. They undergo specific training to work in hospitals and have been shown to reduce pain, stress, and anxiety in children and their families during medical treatment. Dr. Karin Yaacoby-Bianu from Carmel Medical Center and the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, led the study to investigate the impact of medical clowns on children being treated for pneumonia.
“Community acquired pneumonia is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation in children, globally,” Dr. Yaacoby-Bianu explains. “A child’s length of hospital stay depends on several factors including their well-being, vital signs, need for intravenous fluids and antibiotics and whether they develop complications.”
Study design and findings
The research team followed 51 children aged between two and 18 years old who had been hospitalized due to pneumonia. They divided the children into two groups:
- A control group receiving standard care
- An intervention group receiving standard care plus two 15-minute visits from a medical clown daily during the first 48 hours of hospitalization
Three medical clowns from The Dream Doctors Project participated in the study, using various techniques to relax patients, including music, singing, and guided imagination. They also encouraged children to resume eating and drinking independently.
Clowning around leads to faster recovery
The results of the study were striking:
- Shorter hospital stays: Children in the clown group spent an average of 43.5 hours in the hospital, compared to 70 hours for the control group.
- Reduced antibiotic use: The clown group needed only two days of IV antibiotics, while the control group required three days.
- Improved vital signs: Researchers noted significant decreases in respiratory rate, heart rate, and inflammatory markers in the clown group.
Dr. Yaacoby-Bianu offers insight into these results: “While the practice of medical clowning is not a standardised interaction, we believe that it helps to alleviate stress and anxiety, improves psychological adjustment to the hospital environment and allows patients to better participate in treatment plans like adherence to oral antibiotics and fluids. This in turn helps the children to recuperate faster.”
The science behind the smiles
While the exact mechanisms are not fully understood, Dr. Yaacoby-Bianu suggests that “Laughter and humour may also have direct physiological benefits by lowering respiratory and heart rates, reducing air trapping, modulating hormones, and enhancing the immune function.”
This aligns with previous research on the health benefits of laughter, which has shown positive effects on pain tolerance, immune function, and stress reduction. The unique aspect of this study is its focus on a specific medical condition – pneumonia – and its measurable outcomes in terms of hospital stay duration and antibiotic use.
Implications for healthcare
Dr. Stefan Unger, Chair of the ERS Group on Paediatric Respiratory Infection and Immunology and Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People Edinburgh, UK, who was not involved in the research, commented on the study’s significance:
“This study indicates the positive effect that humour can have in healthcare settings and emphasises the potential for non-pharmacological interventions to influence clinical outcomes. Shortening the length of children’s hospital stays by adding medical clowns to a multidisciplinary care team in cases of pneumonia may reduce physical and emotional stress on children and their families. It may also reduce costs and lift some of the burden on healthcare systems.”
Looking ahead
While these results are promising, Dr. Unger notes that “The specific mechanisms by which humour influences clinical outcomes remain a subject for future investigation and further trials in larger patient cohorts are indicated to confirm the findings of this study.”
The research team is already planning further studies to explore the effects of medical clowns on other diseases, aiming to determine where this intervention might be most effective. As healthcare systems worldwide face increasing pressures, innovative approaches like medical clowning could play a valuable role in improving patient outcomes and reducing hospital stays.
Quiz:
- How much shorter were the average hospital stays for children visited by medical clowns compared to the control group?
- What techniques did the medical clowns use to help relax patients?
- Besides shorter hospital stays, what other benefits did the clown group experience?
Answer Key:
- The clown group’s average stay was 26.5 hours shorter (43.5 hours vs 70 hours).
- Music, singing, and guided imagination.
- Reduced IV antibiotic use (2 days vs 3 days) and significant decreases in respiratory rate, heart rate, and inflammatory markers.
