The Role of Medical Hypnosis in Alleviating Procedural Anxiety in Pediatric Interventional Radiology: A Pilot Study.

Pediatric interventional radiology procedures often use general anesthesia to manage pain and anxiety, but general anesthesia carries risks. Medical hypnosis, a noninvasive technique, has shown potential, though its application in pediatric interventional radiology is underexplored. This pilot study compared medical hypnosis and general anesthesia in pediatric interventional radiology, focusing on pre- and post-procedural anxiety and overall patient experience. The mean age of the medical hypnosis group was higher than the general anesthesia group. Post-procedural anxiety was significantly lower in the medical hypnosis group compared to the general anesthesia group (p = .003). Additionally, the overall patient experience was rated higher for medical hypnosis (p = .037). Medical hypnosis offers a viable, noninvasive approach to reducing procedural anxiety and enhancing the patient experience in pediatric interventional radiology. Larger-scale studies are needed to validate these findings and optimize medical hypnosis implementation.