Patients who have an MRI often experience anxiety during it, and this can lead to poor image quality. Patients may move, or may even end the procedure early due to their anxiety. Currently, anti-anxiety medications are used to calm patients, but animal-assisted therapy may be a viable alternative. An exhibit is being presented at the 2011 American Roentgen Ray Society's annual meeting.
The project was conceived by a fifteen-year-old high student. During the course of her MRI, Allison Ruchman experienced anxiety and claustrophobia. She quieted her emotions by thinking about her dog, Wally. She believed that her experience could apply to other patients.
Allison became a certified dog therapist, and conducted the research on this project, assisting physicians who did a study at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, NJ. Twenty-eight patients interacted with a certified therapy dog at various levels of intensity for fifteen minutes, approximately thirty minutes prior to their MRI. Six patients underwent no intervention for the same period of time.
"The most significant aspect of our findings was the fact that time spent with a dog (animal-assisted therapy) could substitute for pharmacologic anxiolysis (anti-anxiety medication) often needed to assist patients having an MRI," said Richard Ruchman, MD, one of the authors of the study."A great deal of research is currently being conducted on animal assisted therapy in the medical environment. To my knowledge, this is the first study that has particularly addressed animal-assisted therapy in the radiology department, and I believe that many applications of could flow from our findings. Current estimates are that 15% or more of patients cannot proceed with an MRI due to anxiety and a non-pharmacologic solution is noteworthy," said Dr. Ruchman.
Story Source:
The above story is from materials provided by American Roentgen Ray Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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