Telehealth for Pediatric Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Joel B Winnick, Geisinger; Leigh Chancey, WakeMed Health and Hospitals; Jessica Buzenski, Emory University; Kritika Sukumar, Geisinger; Dean R Focht, Geisinger; Benjamin R Kuhn, Geisinger; Saniya Tabani, Geisinger; Nicole E Zahka, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Sara E Williams, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-04-01
• Publisher: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
• Publication Version: Preprint (Prior to Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2022 by European Society for European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000003687
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY AND NUTRITION
• Volume: 76
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 447
• End Page: 450
• Keywords: FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY; somatic symptoms; ABDOMINAL-PAIN; Gastroenterology & Hepatology; cognitive behavioral therapy; Science & Technology; Nutrition & Dietetics; pediatrics; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; disorders of gut-brain interaction; Pediatrics; telehealth
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

A retrospective chart review was completed to examine psychological treatment duration and response among pediatric patients with a disorder of gut-brain interaction including functional abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) was delivered via telehealth with a licensed psychologist or supervised psychology trainee embedded in a pediatric gastroenterology clinic. Participants were 22 youth (mean age = 14.36 years) who received CBT via telehealth between February and September of 2021, after completing an initial evaluation between February and July of 2021. Patients completed reliable and valid self-report measures of functional disability and pain during treatment. A unique CBT model was employed with an initial focus on psychoeducation and function regardless of level of severity of functional impairment. Consistent with study hypotheses, nonparametric statistical analyses demonstrated statistically significant reductions in functional disability and pain following implementation of the CBT model via telehealth. Contrary to predictions, there was no relation found between severity of functional impairment and duration of treatment.