Claustrophobia during Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Cohort of 8 Years

Objective: To calculate rate of claustrophobia in our population with further stratification.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi. All patients undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for various indications, from 1st January 2006 to 31st December 2013 were enrolled. All cancelled MRI exams were retrieved from Radiology Information System (RIS) and rate of claustrophobia was calculated from total requested patients and separately from all cancelled exams. The MRI exams were performed on 1.5 and 3 Tesla machines. Claustrophobia rate was further analyzed in subgroups on the basis of age, gender, techniques, timings and body area covered and Odds ratios were calculated.

Results: In eight years, 76,254 patients underwent MRI exams. Out of total scans performed, 417 patients were found to be claustrophobic with rate of 0.53% making 14.32% of total cancelled exams due to various reasons.

Conclusion: Though claustrophobia rate is acceptable in our set up, it contributes to a significant proportion in all cancelled exams.