Pinpointing moments of high anxiety during an MRI examination

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is associated with high levels of anxiety in many patients which may interfere with image quality and increase examination time. In order to develop effective intervention strategies that decrease anxiety, more insights into moments of high anxiety during a MRI examination are necessary.

The present study aimed at obtaining insights into anxiety levels and moments of high anxiety during a Magnetic Resonance Imaging examination.

The study included 67 patients, of whom 52 (77.6 %) were categorized as highly anxious. Stress and anxiety were measured continuously throughout the entire duration of the MRI examination by monitoring the heart rate. An increase in heart rate during the scan was taken as an indication for higher stress and anxiety. In addition to measuring stress and anxiety objectively, anxiety was assessed subjectively before and after the procedure by means of self-report questionnaires.

The self-report data indicate that patients were highly anxious before the MRI examination. Moreover, the electrophysiological data clearly show that anxiety levels were highest at the beginning of the procedure, i.e., when the MRI table moved into the scanner, and then decreased over the course of the examination. Furthermore, the findings show that while subjectively measured anxiety was higher in patients who had taken anxiolytics prior to the MRI examination than in patients who had not taken any anxiolytics, objectively measured anxiety during the scan was equally high in both groups.

The present study provides detailed insights into the anxiety levels during an MRI examination, which may aid in developing effective anxiety-reduction strategies. Additionally, the findings show that measuring anxiety continuously throughout the entire examination using electrophysiology in combination with measuring anxiety subjectively prior to and after the scan provides a more complete assessment of MRI-related anxiety.