Two studies caught my eye in Anesthesia & Analgesia. Teams from both Canada and South Korea independently investigated the anxiolytic value of using cartoons during paediatric induction.
The concept is not new, though this evidence is. The teams looked at different admission and induction types and in two distinctly different cultures, but showed very similar and significant benefits of using cartoons during pediatric induction.
Both papers highlighted the cost of perioperative anxiety in children. Anyone with even a passing pediatric anesthetic practice will agree with the reported 50% incidence of perioperative anxiety. Intense anxiety is associated with negative behavioural adaptations, some of which persist for months or longer. Severe childhood anxiety at anesthetic induction is almost as distressing for parents and anesthetist alike as it is for the poor child.