The following is a summary of “Effects of perioperative clinical hypnosis on heart rate variability in patients undergoing oncologic surgery: secondary outcomes of a randomized controlled trial,” published in the March 2024 issue of Pain by Azam, et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess whether post-surgical heart-rate variability (HRV) in surgical oncology patients receiving clinical hypnosis (CH) differed from a treatment-as-usual group (TAU) during rest at a 1-month follow-up.
They conducted a study following REB approval, trial registration, and informed consent. Ninety-two participants were randomized, with 45 receiving CH and 47 receiving TAU. CH participants underwent CH sessions before surgery and during post-surgical in-hospital stay. HRV was assessed before and 1 month after surgery during rest, while pain intensity was measured before surgery and at 1 week and 1 month post-surgery.
The results showed that one month following surgery, the CH group (n = 29) exhibited significantly higher HRV during both rest (both P<0.05, d = 0.73) compared to the TAU group (n = 28). Conversely, HRV during rest decreased from pre- to 1-month post-surgery for the TAU group (both P<0.001, d > 0.48) but not for the CH group. Pain intensity increased from pre-surgery to 1-week post-surgery (P<0.001, d = 0.50) and subsequently decreased from 1-week to 1-month post-surgery (P=0.005, d = 0.21) for all participants.
Investigators concluded that CH in surgery patients preserved pre-operative HRV, suggesting its potential to aid post-surgical recovery.
Source: frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2024.1354015/full
