Assessment of a short hypnosis in a paediatric operating room in reducing postoperative pain and anxiety: A randomised study

Aims and objectivesTo assess the impact of a short hypnotic session on postoperative anxiety and pain in major orthopaedic surgery. BackgroundDespite specific information given before a scheduled paediatric surgery, perioperative anxiety can become important. DesignRandomised Clinical Study. MethodsThe study is an open single-centre randomised clinical study comparing a control group versus a hypnosis group receiving a short hypnosis pre-induction session as additional experimental analgesic procedure. The primary endpoint was the postoperative anxiety, blindly assessed using a visual analogue scale. ResultsThe study involved 120 children (age 10-18years). The results showed no difference between control group versus hypnosis group. Twenty-four hours after surgery (Day+1), the patient's anxiety score was not different between control and hypnosis groups (median [Q1-Q3]: 1 [0; 3] vs. 0 [0; 3], respectively, p=.17). Each group experienced a significant decrease in anxiety level between the day before surgery (Day-1) and the day after surgery (Day+1) (median ([Q1-Q3]) difference of the anxiety score: 2 [4; 0] and 2 [4; 0], respectively, p<.0001 in each group). The postoperative pain scores were low and not different between groups (median [Q1-Q3]: 2 [0; 3] in control group vs. 3 [1; 3] in hypnosis group, p=.57). ConclusionThis randomised study on a short hypnosis session performed in the operating room prior to a major surgery showed no difference in postoperative anxiety and pain levels. The decrease in anxiety and pain levels may be due to the addition of nurse pre-operative interviews and optimisation in communication in the operating room. Relevance to clinical practiceAs postoperative anxiety level was low in both control and hypnosis groups, nurse pre-operative interviews and nurse training in hypnosis may contribute to the optimisation of global management and decrease the postoperative anxiety level.