2015, Volume 21, Issue 2

Anxiety in patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging

Paulina BARAN¹, Olaf E. TRUSZCZYŃSKI², Łukasz DZIUDA³
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
¹Department of Aviation Bioengineering, Military Institute of Aviation Medicine
²Department of Flight Safety, Military Institute of Aviation Medicine
³Department of Aviation Medicine and Flight Simulation, Military Institute of Aviation Medicine


Autor korenspondencyjny: Paulina BARAN; Department of Aviation Bioengineering, Military Institute of Aviation Medicine; email: pbaran[at]wiml.waw.pl

Full text

Streszczenie

Introduction. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a standard procedure for the diagnosis of central nervous system and musculo-skeletal system disorders. Although MRI provides valuable clinical information, in some patients the procedure can cause discomfort and anxiety associated with the necessity to remain motionless in a closed space of the MRI chamber. The aim of this study was to assess the level of anxiety in patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods. The study involved 52 consecutive patients, 37 women and 15 men, who underwent diagnostic MRI in the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine, Warsaw. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used in order to measure anxiety before and after MRI.

Results. The mean level of anxiety among the studied patients was not high before nor after MRI, with respective values of 36.58 and 36.92. These means were not significantly different as tested by the Wilcoxon test for independent samples (p>0.05).  A high subjective level of anxiety was declared by 5 patients (ca. 10%) before imaging, and 14 patients (ca. 27%) after imaging, respectively.

Discussion and conclusions. It is justified to study symptoms of anxiety and claustrophobia in patients undergoing MRI. In such studies, it is recommended to continuously monitor basic physiological parameters, in addition to administering pen-and-paper questionnaires.

Słowa kluczowe

claustrophobia, magnetic resonance imaging, physiological parameters, anxiety