Contributions
Abstract: EP1403
Type: ePoster
Abstract Category: Clinical aspects of MS - 8 Clinical assessment tools
Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently applied in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy monitoring of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS-patients regularly undergo MRI scanning and are therefore constantly confronted with MRI results and images. But little is known about MS-patients' knowledge of and attitude towards MRI. We hypothesized that MS patients would rate their MRI results as very important and that relevant anxiety is associated with the scanning and delivery of results. Fear of MRI-results might diminish with longer disease duration, higher number of MRI scans as well as higher knowledge about MRI.
Objective and methods: An online survey was conducted among n=498 MS-patients in November/December 2016 via the website of the German MS-society. N=388 MS-patients answered a 23-item MRI-risk knowledge questionnaire (MRI-RIKNO) based on earlier work (Brand et al. 2014). N= 490 patients answered an MRI-emotions and attitude questionnaire (MRI-EMA), in which participants rated 17 statements about MRI (e.g. „My last MRI result was very important to me.“) on Likert scales. Chi-Q-test was used to examine differences between patient subgroups.
Results: The majority of participants were female (70%) and had a relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) course (80%). Mean age was 43, MS was diagnosed between 1975 and 2016 and mean disease duration was 8 years. The average score in the MRI-RIKNO was 15/23 correctly answered questions (65%). MRI-results were very important to the majority of patients (55%), but importance seemed to fade when transition to secondary MS had been reached (35% versus 60% in both RRMS or primary-progressive MS (PP-MS)). Almost all patients wished to discuss their results with a radiologist/neurologist (80%), however 25% did not at all feel competent to do so. The MRI scan itself was not stressful to the majority of patients (50%), but a third of patients declared that they were anxious before having received their most recent MRI-results. This fear seemed to diminish with longer duration of the disease (MS-diagnosis < 5 years: 40%, MS-diagnosis 20 to 30 years: 20%) and higher number of MRI-scans (< 5 MRI-scans: 40%, >10 MRI-scans: 20%).
Conclusion: MRI is very important to the majority of MS patients, but MRI knowledge is only modest. The MRI results, but not the procedure itself, are associated with anxiety. This anxiety inversely correlates with disease duration as well as number of MRIs.
Disclosure:
Katharina Engels: Nothing to disclose.
Insa Schiffmann: Nothing to disclose.
Anne Rahn: Nothing to disclose.
Imke Backhus: Nothing to disclose.
Hans Pinnschmidt: Nothing to disclose.
Gesa Pust received a travel grant from Genzyme.
Christoph Heesen received speaker honoraries and grants from Biogen, Genzyme, Teva, Roche, Merck.
Abstract: EP1403
Type: ePoster
Abstract Category: Clinical aspects of MS - 8 Clinical assessment tools
Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently applied in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy monitoring of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS-patients regularly undergo MRI scanning and are therefore constantly confronted with MRI results and images. But little is known about MS-patients' knowledge of and attitude towards MRI. We hypothesized that MS patients would rate their MRI results as very important and that relevant anxiety is associated with the scanning and delivery of results. Fear of MRI-results might diminish with longer disease duration, higher number of MRI scans as well as higher knowledge about MRI.
Objective and methods: An online survey was conducted among n=498 MS-patients in November/December 2016 via the website of the German MS-society. N=388 MS-patients answered a 23-item MRI-risk knowledge questionnaire (MRI-RIKNO) based on earlier work (Brand et al. 2014). N= 490 patients answered an MRI-emotions and attitude questionnaire (MRI-EMA), in which participants rated 17 statements about MRI (e.g. „My last MRI result was very important to me.“) on Likert scales. Chi-Q-test was used to examine differences between patient subgroups.
Results: The majority of participants were female (70%) and had a relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) course (80%). Mean age was 43, MS was diagnosed between 1975 and 2016 and mean disease duration was 8 years. The average score in the MRI-RIKNO was 15/23 correctly answered questions (65%). MRI-results were very important to the majority of patients (55%), but importance seemed to fade when transition to secondary MS had been reached (35% versus 60% in both RRMS or primary-progressive MS (PP-MS)). Almost all patients wished to discuss their results with a radiologist/neurologist (80%), however 25% did not at all feel competent to do so. The MRI scan itself was not stressful to the majority of patients (50%), but a third of patients declared that they were anxious before having received their most recent MRI-results. This fear seemed to diminish with longer duration of the disease (MS-diagnosis < 5 years: 40%, MS-diagnosis 20 to 30 years: 20%) and higher number of MRI-scans (< 5 MRI-scans: 40%, >10 MRI-scans: 20%).
Conclusion: MRI is very important to the majority of MS patients, but MRI knowledge is only modest. The MRI results, but not the procedure itself, are associated with anxiety. This anxiety inversely correlates with disease duration as well as number of MRIs.
Disclosure:
Katharina Engels: Nothing to disclose.
Insa Schiffmann: Nothing to disclose.
Anne Rahn: Nothing to disclose.
Imke Backhus: Nothing to disclose.
Hans Pinnschmidt: Nothing to disclose.
Gesa Pust received a travel grant from Genzyme.
Christoph Heesen received speaker honoraries and grants from Biogen, Genzyme, Teva, Roche, Merck.