title: Hypnosis reduces preoperative anxiety in adult patients.
abstract: In this study we examined the effect of hypnosis on preoperative anxiety. Subjects were randomized into 3 groups, a hypnosis group (n = 26) who received suggestions of well-being; an attention-control group (n = 26) who received attentive listening and support without any specific hypnotic suggestions and a "standard of care" control group (n = 24). Anxiety was measured pre- and postintervention as well as on entrance to the operating rooms. We found that patients in the hypnosis group were significantly less anxious postintervention as compared with patients in the attention-control group and the control group (31 +/- 8 versus 37 +/- 9 versus 41 +/- 11, analysis of variance, P = 0.008). Moreover, on entrance to the operating rooms, the hypnosis group reported a significant decrease of 56% in their anxiety level whereas the attention-control group reported an increase of 10% in anxiety and the control group reported an increase of 47% in their anxiety (P = 0.001). In conclusion, we found that hypnosis significantly alleviates preoperative anxiety. Future studies are indicated to examine the effects of preoperative hypnosis on postoperative outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Advancement of Perioperative Health, Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA. zeev.kain@yale.edu
authors.forename: Haleh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saadat
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Drummond-Lewis
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maranets
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Anusha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saadat
authors.forename: Shu-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zeev N
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Kain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006990:Hypnosis / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data