Library: Univ. of Washington
Medical Center
____________________________________
Source: American Family Physician, May 15, 2000 v61 i10 p3097.
Title: Relaxation Technique Reduces Patient Anxiety Before
Surgery. Author: ELVIRA V. LANG
Subjects: Hypnotism in surgery - Usage Relaxation - Technique Locations: United States
Electronic Collection: A62829128
RN: A62829128
Full Text COPYRIGHT 2000 American Academy of Family Physicians
(85th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological
Society of North America) The use of hypnotic relaxation techniques
before some medical procedures reduced patients' anxiety and pain
during the procedures, decreased procedure time and cost, and, in
nearly one half of the cases, eliminated the need for conscious
sedation altogether. These were the findings of a study of 161 patients
undergoing angiography, angioplasty or kidney drainage. The relaxation
technique involved a specially trained nurse or team member reading
a script telling the patient to close and relax their eyes, take
deep breaths, feel a sensation of floating and go to a safe and
comfortable place. The patients were given a bell to ring at any
point during the procedure if they felt the need for more anesthesia.
All of the patients were offered conscious sedation (a mixture of
antipain and antianxiety medication). Fourteen of the 79 patients
(18 percent) who did not undergo relaxation techniques requested
no sedation, compared with 38 of the 82 patients (46 percent) who
underwent relaxation techniques. Replacing or supplementing anesthesia
with the relaxation techniques reduced the average procedure time
by 17 minutes (20 percent of total procedure time) and reduced the
average procedure cost by $130 per patient. This reduction in cost
was primarily the result of fewer interruptions during the procedures,
and avoiding over- or undersedation that usually results in the
patient being admitted to the hospital overnight instead of being
released within a few hours of the procedure.--ELVIRA V. LANG, M.D.,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Michael Bennett is a master practitioner
and trainer of NLP and Hypnotherapy, licensed and certified through
the Society of NLP. He operates a school for teaching these disciplines
to health professionals and persons interested in improving the
quality of their lives.
