Claustrophobia during magnetic resonance imaging: cohort study in over 55,000 patients.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether MR scanners with acoustic noise reduction and a short magnetic bore reduce the rate of claustrophobic reactions.


METHODS
We performed a cohort study in an outpatient setting, enrolling a total of 55,734 consecutive patients referred for MRI of any part of the body based on a clinical indication. Imaging was performed using a conventional MR scanner (42,998 patients) and a recently developed MR scanner (12,736 patients) with 97% acoustic noise reduction and a short bore. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for the nonrandomized design.


RESULTS
In addition to those undergoing head-first examinations, female and middle-aged patients were significantly more likely to develop claustrophobia in the logistic regression analysis (P < 0.001). The rate of claustrophobic reactions was significantly lower with the recent MR scanner (0.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6-0.9%) than with the conventional scanner (2.1%; 95% CI, 2.0-2.3%; P < 0.001) with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 3.1 (95% CI, 2.5-3.9) and a number needed to treat of 72 (95% CI, 63-85).


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of claustrophobia may be reduced by a factor of 3 when recently-developed MR scanners are used.
Dewey
Marc
M
Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany. marc.dewey@charite.de
Schink
Tania
T
Dewey
Charles F
CF
D017677:Age Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution