Using Mindfulness to Reduce Anxiety During PET/CT Studies

• Published in: Mindfulness 2019-06, Vol.10 (6), p.1163-1168
• Main Authors: Lorca, Alberto Martinez, Lorca, Manuela Martinez, Criado, Juan Jose, Aguado, Roberto, Baños, Maria Carmen Zabala, Armesilla, Maria Dolores Cabañas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Blood pressure; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Child and School Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Diagnostic tests; Digital music; Dyspnea; Family medical history; Gynecology; Heart rate; Intervention; Medical imaging; Mindfulness; Nuclear medicine; Original Paper; Patients; Pediatrics; Psychology; Psychopathology; Public Health; Questionnaires; Social Sciences; Tomography; Variables
• ISSN: 1868-8527; 1868-8535
• DOI: 10.1007/s12671-018-1065-2

The aims of the present work were to identify the levels of subjective and objective anxiety and heart rate in patients attending a nuclear medicine service to undergo a 18F-FDG PET-CT scan, and to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention based on a mindfulness meditation recording in order to verify the possible immediate effect of reducing anxiety and heart rate. This is a randomized, prospective study with pre- and post-intervention measures. The sample comprises 108 cancer patients attending the nuclear medicine service to undergo a 18F-FDG PET/CT study. Mean age was 58.81 years; 54 were assigned to the experimental group and 54 to the control group. The most frequent location of the primary tumor was in the lymphatic system (22.2%), and the most common treatment was chemotherapy (21.3%). There was no presence of artifacts (97.2%). With regard to the intervention, the group that listened to the mindfulness recording exhibited lower subjective anxiety ( F , 526.95; p  = 0.000; η 2 partial = 0.83); lower total anxiety as measured on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scale ( F , 271.80; p  = 0.000; η 2 partial = 0.72), and lower heart rate ( F , 27.15; p  = 0.000; η 2 partial = 0.84). A single-session mindfulness practice using a meditation recording reduces both subjective and objective anxiety and heart rate in patients undergoing a PET/CT study.