PURPOSE: Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) is a crucial technique in the diagnosis of disease and in monitoring its progression. To ascertain clinically reliable images, the patient must remain still for long periods of time within a constricted environment. Anxiety and claustrophobia associated with MRI testing environment affect patients` ability to undergo these tests, thus limiting patients` diagnostics. Guided imagery is a tool to minimize patient anxiety and phobia during MRI testing and thus may contribute to increased accuracy in testing, diagnosis and follow up. The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefit of guided imagery in ameliorating anxiety of patients undergoing head MRI examination, measured by surveys of anxiety and phobia taken prior, immediately after, and one-month post-MRI.
MATERIAL & METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 57 adult patients undergoing head MRI testing at Rambam Health Care Campus that were assigned either into the experimental or control group. The experimental group underwent the intervention of listening to guided imagery recording immediately prior to undergoing MRI examination while the control group did not. Participants in both groups were assessed on anxiety and phobia by three questionnaires. These measurements were collected for both groups at three time periods: at baseline prior to intervention and/or MRI examination, immediately after undergoing the MRI, and one-month after completing the MRI examination.
RESULTS: Anxiety levels were less severe immediately after MRI and one-month post-MRI in the experimental group compared to control but only when assessing current and not usual anxiety levels. However, these results were only found to be statistically significant when specifically analyzing decreases in current anxiety scores at the questioning periods before and after the MRI examination such that the current anxiety scores decreased on average 3.02 points more in the group that listened to the guided imagery compared to those who did not (experimental group: decrease of 5.33 points, control group: decrease of 2.31 points, p < 0.0001). All other differences in anxiety and phobia were not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS: Guided imagery may be offered to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation in patients undergoing head MRI testing. However, further investigation is needed to better understand its possible effects on alleviating anxiety before its use can be considered for recommendation.
