Abstract

Background

Pediatric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be stressful. Mock MR scanners have been proven to be effective in avoiding the use of general anesthesia.

Objectives

We prospectively evaluated the impact of a teddy bear-scale model of a mock MR scanner on the anxiety experienced by parents and their children during MRI without general anesthesia .

Materials and methods

A 1-year prospective study before and after the installation of a mock scanner in a Pediatric Radiology Department of a university hospital. Anxiety levels were self-estimated by children ages 4 to 16 years and by the parents with a visual analogue scale (from 0, completely relaxed, to 100, extremely stressed) at three moments: in the waiting room, in the preparation room after an explanation by the MRI technologists, and at the issue of the MR acquisition images. Two groups were tested: one with a mock MR scanner, the other without. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Fisher exact tests were performed. Motion artifacts were studied.

Results

Ninety-one children and their parents were included. The median age was 8 years (standard deviation [SD]=2). In the post mock period, the ambiance of the preparation room was considered by children as significantly more relaxing in 50% vs. 20% (P=0.004) and the anxiety level of children was significantly lower after the explanation, particularly in girls, but unchanged for their parents. The anxiety levels at the end of the examination were significantly lower for parents. The motion artifacts rate was lower (1.7% vs. 4.7%, P=0.04).

Conclusion

A mock scanner was an efficient tool to improve efficiency of the explanation and to decrease anxiety in children and motion artifacts in pediatric MRI.

中文翻译：

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泰迪熊规模的模拟磁共振扫描仪对儿童和父母焦虑水平的影响

摘要

背景

小儿磁共振成像（MRI）可能会给人带来压力。事实证明，模拟MR扫描仪可有效避免全身麻醉。

目标

我们前瞻性地评估了模拟MR扫描仪的泰迪熊比例模型对没有全身麻醉的MRI期间父母及其子女的焦虑的影响。

材料和方法

在大学医院的儿科放射科安装模拟扫描仪之前和之后的1年前瞻性研究。焦虑水平是由4至16岁的孩子和父母在三个时刻通过视觉模拟量表（从0，完全放松，到100，极度紧张）自我估计的：在等候室， MRI技术人员的解释，以及有关MR采集图像的问题。测试了两组：一组使用模拟MR扫描仪，另一组没有。进行了方差分析（ANOVA）和Fisher精确检验。研究了运动伪影。

结果

其中包括91个孩子及其父母。中位年龄为8岁（标准差[SD] = 2）。在模拟后时期，儿童认为准备室的氛围比50％比20％的放松得多（P = 0.004），并且在解释后儿童的焦虑程度明显降低，尤其是在女孩中，但对于他们的父母没有改变。父母检查结束时的焦虑水平明显降低。运动伪影率较低（1.7％比4.7％，P = 0.04）。

结论

模拟扫描仪是一种有效的工具，可以提高解释的效率，并减少儿童的焦虑和小儿MRI的运动伪影。