Audio-Recorded Guided Imagery Treatment Reduces Functional Abdominal Pain in Children: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to develop and to test a homebased, guided imagery treatment protocol, using audio and video recordings, that is easy for health care professionals and patients to use, is inexpensive, and is applicable to awide range of health care settings. METHODS: Thirty-four children, 6 to 15 years of age, with a physician diagnosis of functional abdominal pain were assigned randomly to receive 2 months of standard medical care with or without homebased, guided imagery treatment. Childrenwho received only standard medical care initially received guided imagery treatment after 2 months. Children were monitored for 6 months after completion of guided imagery treatment. RESULTS: All treatment materials were reported to be selfexplanatory, enjoyable, and easy to understand and to use. The compliance rate was 98.5%. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 63.1% of children in the guided imagery treatment group were treatment responders, compared with 26.7% in the standard medical care–only group (P .03; number needed to treat: 3). Per-protocol analysis showed similar results (73.3% vs 28.6% responders). When the children in the standard medical care group also received guided imagery treatment, 61.5% became treatment responders. Treatment effects were maintained for 6 months (62.5% responders). CONCLUSION: Guided imagery treatment plus medical care was superior to standardmedical care only for the treatment of abdominal pain, and treatment effects were sustained over a long period. Pediatrics 2009;124:e890–e897 AUTHORS: Miranda A. L. van Tilburg, PhD,a Denesh K. Chitkara, MD,a Olafur S. Palsson, PsyD,a Marsha Turner, MA,a Nanette Blois-Martin, PNP,a Martin Ulshen, MD,b and William E. Whitehead, PhDa aCenter for Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and bDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina