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Impact of empathic physician contact on patient anxiety and distress during the waiting period after embryo transfer: a randomized controlled trial.
- Source :
-
Reproductive biomedicine online [Reprod Biomed Online] 2022 Sep; Vol. 45 (3), pp. 425-431. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 May 05. - Publication Year :
- 2022
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Abstract
- Research Question: Can an empathic physician phone call in the interval between embryo transfer and first serum human chorionic gonadotrophin measurement decrease anxiety and distress amongst patients undergoing IVF?<br />Design: This was a randomized controlled trial at a single academically-affiliated fertility centre including patients aged 18-43 undergoing their first embryo transfer with autologous fresh or euploid cryopreserved embryos following preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (frozen embryo transfer, FET/PGT-A). After embryo transfer, participants were randomized to a 5-minute scripted phone call (intervention) from a single physician 3-4 days after embryo transfer or to routine care. The primary and secondary outcomes included were change in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores from the start of IVF stimulation to 8-9 days after embryo transfer, respectively.<br />Results: A total of 231 participants (164 fresh, 67 FET/PGT-A) were randomized to intervention (n = 116) or routine care (n = 115). While mean STAI and HADS scores increased in both groups, the intervention group experienced lower mean increases than the routine care group for both the STAI (3.3 [0.97] versus 7.8 [1.10], respectively; P = 0.002) and the HADS (0.3 [0.44] versus 2.4 [0.53], respectively; P = 0.003). Most participants in the intervention group found the call helpful (91.4%) and reported that it decreased distress and anxiety (81%).<br />Conclusions: A brief empathic phone call from a physician during the waiting period resulted in significantly lower self-reported levels of patient anxiety and distress. As the intervention in this study averaged 5 min, implementing this in clinical practice would not be onerous and may ease the distress associated with the waiting period.<br /> (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1472-6491
- Volume :
- 45
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Reproductive biomedicine online
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 35750588
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2022.04.021