The Effect of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing on Anxiety and Pain after Appendectomy in Hospitalized Children

Surgical anxiety and pain are common complaints of hospitalized children, which can have devastating effects on the child's recovery process.

The present study was performed aimed to investigate the effect of one session of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) on anxiety and pain of hospitalized children after appendectomy.

This clinical trial study was performed on 46 children hospitalized in the hospital affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from December 2019 to February 2020. The subjects aged 12 to 16 years who underwent appendectomy and were randomly placed in two groups. The trait anxiety and demographic characteristics were assessed before the surgery. Six hours after the surgery, the intervention group received one session of EMDR along with the routine treatment, and the control group only received the routine treatment. State anxiety and pain were assessed in the two groups before, immediately and one hour after the intervention. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The state anxiety level after appendectomy was high in both control (50.87±12.45) and intervention (53.15±6.36) groups; however, the difference was not significant (p=0.654). Also, the mean of pain in the intervention and control groups before the intervention was not significantly different (p=0.948). But the level of state anxiety and pain immediately and one hour after the intervention showed a significant difference in the intervention and control groups (p<0.05).

Implications for Practice: 

The results of this study showed that EMDR can be effective in alleviating anxiety and pain after surgical procedures in hospitalized children.