• M Salas Arrambide, O Gabaldón Poc, J L Mayoral Miravete, R Guerrero Pereda, and I Amayra Caro.
• Departamento de Psicología. Universidad de Deusto. Bilbao. Spain. msalas@eukalnet.net
• An Pediatr (Barc). 2003 Jul 1; 59 (1): 105-9.

BackgroundPsychological treatments for procedural distress have shown good results in pediatric oncology and several institutions recommend their implementation to reduce the procedural distress, anxiety and pain associated with painful medical procedures.ObjectivesTo assess the results of a psychological intervention in the first child participating in the study "Prospective Analysis of a Psychological Program for Coping with Medical Procedures in Pediatric Oncology".MethodsWe performed a single-case study, using pain and anxiety self-reports by the child and an observational scale in a psychological intervention with the following components: Breathing exercises, imagery, reinforcement, and behavioral rehearsal.ResultsThe psychological intervention decreased procedural distress, anticipatory anxiety and pain. The 3-year-old child was able to give pain and anxiety self-reports using appropiate tools.ConclusionsThe potential benefits of this kind of intervention are discussed, and some recommendations for future research are proposed.

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