[Evaluation of hypnosis in pain management during photodynamic therapy: a pilot study].

BACKGROUND

Pain is the main adverse effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and few effective analgesic methods are currently available. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of hypnoanalgesia with the use of PDT.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between August 2011 and February 2013, a hypnoanalgesia session was proposed to patients requiring PTD for the treatment of (pre)carcinomatous lesions. At the end of the hypnosis session, patients evaluated their pain on a numeric pain scale (NPS) of 0 to 10.

RESULTS

Twelve patients of average age 74.6 years were included. The indication for PDT was actinic keratosis (AK) in 9 patients, 1 Bowen's disease of the penis, 1 mammary Paget's disease and 1 bowenoid papulosis of the penis. Hypnoanalgesia was effective in 8 patients with a mean pain evaluation score of 2.9/10 on the NPS. Six of these 8 patients had previously undergone treatment by PDT without hypnosis and with an average pain score of 8.3/10.

DISCUSSION

Hypnoanalgesia appears to be of value for pain management with PTD. This method is simple, inexpensive and devoid of side effects, and it is active on both pain and anxiety. To improve the use of hypnoanalgesia in PDT, it would be necessary to have better knowledge of the predictive factors for pain in PDT, to determine how to best select patients "sensitive" to hypnosis, and to encourage the training of nurses and doctors in this method.