Diagnostic play endoscopy of upper respiratory tract for reducing stress in children aged from 3 to 7 years

Aim. In modern medical and psychological literature, the importance of reducing stress during medical examination of children is explained by the ambivalent characteristics of the modern technological approach: on the one hand, it gives more accurate data on the status of the body, on the other hand, it acts as an additional stressor. This work demonstrates the possibilities of reducing stress during ENT diagnosis in children aged from 3 to 7 years by means of play endoscopy. Materials and methods. Children from 3 to 7 years of age requiring ENT endoscopy (n=30) participated in the study. All children were divided into 2 groups by the pair distribution function. The first group was offered a play endoscopy. Play endoscopy is an ENT endoscopy performed with endoscopic equipment provided with a fairy-tale character (hereinafter the product). Play endoscopy is carried out to reduce stress during consultation and examination (patent application No 2020104836). The second group of children was offered a traditional endoscopic examination. The research was conducted on the premises of the New Technologies Clinic. Results. In the first group, 13% of children showed signs of stress during ENT endoscopy, while in the second group there were 53% of stressed children. In the first group (15 children), 13 children without prevalence of any syndrome chose bright products corresponding to age and gender. Children in the second group were not offered play products. Conclusion. A comprehensive examination of a child requires an increase in the humanitarian component of the treatment process. The method of play endoscopy based on the selection of a toy with its subsequent use with endoscopic equipment has shown its effectiveness. Wider application of this technique for reducing stress in children aged from 3 to 7 years may be the subject of further research.