title: [Hypnosis: clinical applications].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypnosis has a wide variety of applications in medicine. In recent years, recognition has grown for the need to subject the effectiveness of hypnosis to accepted research standards of clinical medicine.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article aims to review salient studies of the effectiveness of hypnosis in several areas of medicine where hypnosis is commonly employed: analgesia, preparation for medical and surgical procedures, asthma, digestive disturbances, dermatological disorders, bleeding disorders, postsurgical and post-chemotherapeutic nausea and vomiting, and smoking cessation.
  
  
  METHODS
  This survey emphasizes studies that fulfill accepted standards of clinical research, including randomization, control groups, and adequate sample size.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Firm empirical evidence is to be found for the effectiveness of hypnosis in analgesia. In the other areas reviewed there is also some evidence for the possible clinical value for hypnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Additional research will be necessary to determine the proper place of hypnosis in clinical medical care.
authors.affiliation: Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
authors.forename: Noam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weizman
authors.forename: Uriel
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Heresco-Levy
authors.forename: Pesach
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lichtenberg
mesh_terms: D000698:Analgesia; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D006990:Hypnosis / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results