SMILE trial

The SMILE Trial was a study which took place at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath and the University of Bristol in Britain. The principle investigator was Esther Crawley. It was designed to the effects of standard medical treatment (SMC) against that of the Lightning Process & SMC. The Lightning process takes place over three consecutive days in a group format. Participants were chidren aged between 12 and 18 drawn from the Bristol and Bath areas. Those who were housebound were excluded.

Methodology
Self completed questionnaires were completed at the first clinical assessment and subsequently at 3, 6 and 12 months. Assessment was based on the Chalder fatigue scale; pain visual analogue scale ; physical function short form (SF-36); the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for children aged 14 and over  , and the Euroqol (EQ-5D), a five-item quality of life inventory.

Funding
The initial budget was £164 000 funded by the Linbury Trust and the Ashden Trust.

Results
No results have been published.

Investigators
Esther Crawley, Nicola Mills, Will Hollingworth, Zuzana Deans, Jonathan A Sterne, Jenny L Donovan, Lucy Beasant and Alan Montgomery