Non-pharmacological strategies to reduce stress and anxiety in endovascular procedures: A scoping review.
Francisco de Cassio de Oliveira Mendes, Kauanny Vitoria Gurgel Dos Santos, Joyce Karolayne Dos Santos Dantas and 5 others
PMID 38520118WHAT IT FOUND
Music, patient education, massage and aromatherapy were the common non-drug strategies mapped in studies of adults having cardiac catheterization or angioplasty.
Many reported less anxiety or stress, but the review does not prove any single strategy works.
Key findings
01The review included 20 studies; ten were about music therapy and seven were about educational guidance.
02Nineteen studies reported interventions relieved anxiety, but one study found no significant change in blood pressure or heart rate and another said the intervention was not effective.
03Music was given through headphones for 20 to 60 minutes, educational DVD or projector material for 10 to 12 minutes, and massage for 20 minutes before surgery.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review maps the literature rather than testing whether the strategies work. The authors did not carry out a reverse search of reference lists. The authors note few recent studies on the topic. Only adult and older patients were included, so it says nothing about children. The paper gives different counts for randomized clinical trials in the results text and a table.
Declared interests
The authors report no specific funding and no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as proof that music, massage, education or aromatherapy reliably reduce anxiety. It maps studies that often reported benefit, but it was not designed to test whether a strategy works, and one included study found no effective intervention.