[Psychologic reactions of patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging. Preliminary study]

MR imaging, like other imaging techniques, can cause emotional and psychological reactions in the patients. Although reversible, these reactions sometimes lead the patient to absolutely refuse the examination or to make it impossible to carry it through. To investigate the patients' emotional distress, a study group of 28 subjects was examined. They were heterogeneous in sex, age, and pathologic condition. The main psychological reactions were analyzed, and anxiety--both of state and of trait. The anxiety parameter was evaluated as a specific index in the psycho-behavioral modifications induced by MR examination. The influence was also considered of the "fantasies" related to examination results on the patients' psyche. Talks and STAI X1 and STAI X2 were employed to this purpose, to identify possible disturbing elements related to both patients' character and examination situations. Our results point to anxiety as the major reaction observed in the subjects undergoing MR examination; it seems to be related to different parameters, which are difficult to identify. Claustrophobia, pathofobia, and the fear of an unknown examination play a major role. Talking to the patients and informing them of the characteristics of the examination proved useful to significantly reduce their emotional distress.