Risks and benefits of animal-assisted interventions for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units

Abstract Background Pets offer significant health benefits, from decreased cardiovascular risks to anxiety and post-traumatic stress improvements. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are not frequently practiced in the intensive care unit (ICU) for fear of health risk for critical patients because there is a hypothetical risk of zoonoses. Objectives This systematic review aimed to collect and summarize available evidence about AAI in the ICU. The Review questions were “Do AAI improve the clinical outcome of Critically Ill Patients admitted to ICUs?” and “Are the zoonotic infections the cause of negative prognosis?”. Methods The following databases were searched on 5 January 2023: Cochrane C…