Why are(n't) you using pheromones in your hospital ward? There's more to reducing patient stress

摘要

In companion animal practice, we often hospitalise animals. Many patients are only hospitalised for a day or two and the long-term benefit of this care is likely or certain. Perhaps for this reason, and because we are so busy solving the clinical problems, we have tended to accept that some of our patients will be (dis)stressed by hospitalisation. For example, we accept that some cats crouch all day in their litter trays or that some dogs stand at the front of their kennels all day panting or barking. In more scientific terms, we accept that hospitalisation causes physiological changes such as increased heart rate, blood glucose and Cortisol release which, in some cases, are associated with negative feelings such as anxiety, frustration and fear manifested by behaviours such as those above. If persistent and aversive enough those feelings may constitute the mental state known as suffering. Owners also accept that their pets may find hospitalization stressful. However, it is quite common to hear them say of their pet: "S/he used to love coming here until s/ he came in to be 'done'." Those owners are aware that some aspect of the time spent at the veterinary hospital distressed their animal. In this article, I demonstrate why their hunch is correctand why there is more to managing in-patients' stress than providing pheromones.