Hypnosis in paediatric respiratory medicine

Abstract

Hypnotherapy is an often misunderstood yet effective therapy. It has been reported to be useful within the field of paediatric respiratory medicine as both a primary and an adjunctive therapy. This article gives a brief overview of how hypnotherapy is performed followed by a review of its applications in paediatric patients with asthma, cystic fibrosis, dyspnea, habit cough, vocal cord dysfunction, and those requiring non-invasive positive pressure ventilation. As the available literature is comprised mostly of case series, retrospective studies, and only a single small randomized study, the field would be strengthened by additional randomized, controlled trials in order to better establish the effectiveness of hypnosis as a treatment, and to identify the processes leading to hypnosis-induced physiologic changes. As examples of the utility of hypnosis and how it can be taught to children with respiratory disease, the article includes videos that demonstrate its use for patients with cystic fibrosis.

Keywords: Asthma; Chest pain; Children; Cystic fibrosis; Dyspnea; Habit cough; Hypnosis; Vocal cord dysfunction.