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Credit: CDC
SAN DIEGO—Watching videos through special glasses can calm patients undergoing a biopsy or other minimally invasive treatment, according to research presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 39th Annual Scientific Meeting.
Researchers have explored strategies other than medication to reduce anxiety in these patients, including having patients listen to music or undergo hypnosis. But these methods have had modest benefits.
“Our study—the first of its kind for interventional radiology treatments—puts a spin on using modern technology to provide a safe, potentially cost-effective strategy of reducing anxiety, which can help and improve patient care,” said David L. Waldman, MD, PhD, of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
“Whether they were watching a children’s movie or a nature show, patients wearing video glasses were successful at tuning out their surroundings. It’s an effective distraction technique that helps focus the individual’s attention away from the treatment.”
The study involved 49 patients (33 men and 16 women, ages 18-87) who were undergoing an outpatient interventional radiology treatment, such as a biopsy or placement of a catheter in the arm or chest to receive medication for treating cancer or infection.
Twenty-five of the patients donned video glasses prior to undergoing the treatment, and 24 did not. The video viewers chose from 20 videos, none of which were violent.
All of the patients filled out a standard 20-question test called the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y before and after the procedure to assess their level of anxiety.
Patients who wore the video glasses were 18.1% less anxious after the treatment than they were before, while those who didn’t wear video glasses were 7.5% less anxious afterward.
And the presence of the video glasses did not bother either the patient or the doctor, Dr Waldman said.
The glasses had no significant effect on blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, pain, procedure time, or the amount of sedation or pain medication used.
“Patients told us the video glasses really helped calm them down and took their mind off the treatment, and we now offer video glasses to help distract patients from medical treatment going on mere inches away,” Dr Waldman said. “It is really comforting for patients, especially the ones who tend to be more nervous.
Dr Waldman and his colleagues presented these results at the meeting as abstract 126. 
Credit: CDC
SAN DIEGO—Watching videos through special glasses can calm patients undergoing a biopsy or other minimally invasive treatment, according to research presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 39th Annual Scientific Meeting.
Researchers have explored strategies other than medication to reduce anxiety in these patients, including having patients listen to music or undergo hypnosis. But these methods have had modest benefits.
“Our study—the first of its kind for interventional radiology treatments—puts a spin on using modern technology to provide a safe, potentially cost-effective strategy of reducing anxiety, which can help and improve patient care,” said David L. Waldman, MD, PhD, of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
“Whether they were watching a children’s movie or a nature show, patients wearing video glasses were successful at tuning out their surroundings. It’s an effective distraction technique that helps focus the individual’s attention away from the treatment.”
The study involved 49 patients (33 men and 16 women, ages 18-87) who were undergoing an outpatient interventional radiology treatment, such as a biopsy or placement of a catheter in the arm or chest to receive medication for treating cancer or infection.
Twenty-five of the patients donned video glasses prior to undergoing the treatment, and 24 did not. The video viewers chose from 20 videos, none of which were violent.
All of the patients filled out a standard 20-question test called the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y before and after the procedure to assess their level of anxiety.
Patients who wore the video glasses were 18.1% less anxious after the treatment than they were before, while those who didn’t wear video glasses were 7.5% less anxious afterward.
And the presence of the video glasses did not bother either the patient or the doctor, Dr Waldman said.
The glasses had no significant effect on blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, pain, procedure time, or the amount of sedation or pain medication used.
“Patients told us the video glasses really helped calm them down and took their mind off the treatment, and we now offer video glasses to help distract patients from medical treatment going on mere inches away,” Dr Waldman said. “It is really comforting for patients, especially the ones who tend to be more nervous.
Dr Waldman and his colleagues presented these results at the meeting as abstract 126.
Credit: CDC
SAN DIEGO—Watching videos through special glasses can calm patients undergoing a biopsy or other minimally invasive treatment, according to research presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 39th Annual Scientific Meeting.
Researchers have explored strategies other than medication to reduce anxiety in these patients, including having patients listen to music or undergo hypnosis. But these methods have had modest benefits.
“Our study—the first of its kind for interventional radiology treatments—puts a spin on using modern technology to provide a safe, potentially cost-effective strategy of reducing anxiety, which can help and improve patient care,” said David L. Waldman, MD, PhD, of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
“Whether they were watching a children’s movie or a nature show, patients wearing video glasses were successful at tuning out their surroundings. It’s an effective distraction technique that helps focus the individual’s attention away from the treatment.”
The study involved 49 patients (33 men and 16 women, ages 18-87) who were undergoing an outpatient interventional radiology treatment, such as a biopsy or placement of a catheter in the arm or chest to receive medication for treating cancer or infection.
Twenty-five of the patients donned video glasses prior to undergoing the treatment, and 24 did not. The video viewers chose from 20 videos, none of which were violent.
All of the patients filled out a standard 20-question test called the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y before and after the procedure to assess their level of anxiety.
Patients who wore the video glasses were 18.1% less anxious after the treatment than they were before, while those who didn’t wear video glasses were 7.5% less anxious afterward.
And the presence of the video glasses did not bother either the patient or the doctor, Dr Waldman said.
The glasses had no significant effect on blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, pain, procedure time, or the amount of sedation or pain medication used.
“Patients told us the video glasses really helped calm them down and took their mind off the treatment, and we now offer video glasses to help distract patients from medical treatment going on mere inches away,” Dr Waldman said. “It is really comforting for patients, especially the ones who tend to be more nervous.
Dr Waldman and his colleagues presented these results at the meeting as abstract 126.