Effect of Hypnosis and Virtual Reality on Anxiety During Treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Hypnosis: Each session is based on the hypnosis techniques described by Erickson. In general, a session includes a hypnotic induction phase, a period of deepening and suggestions specific to the symptoms, followed by a return to reality. The hypnotherapist will be someone outside the team, trained in the Ericksonian method, who will intervene at a specific time during the sessions.

Virtual Reality: Each patient will be able to choose their environment from among those available (forest, beach, Zen garden, scuba diving, winter landscape, northern lights, astral travel, Antarctica, Maldives, desert), accompanied by ambient sounds. During the sessions, patients will be seated in their rooms at a quiet time outside of any treatment.

Study summary

This is a pilot study comparing 3 arms (standard care with hypnosis / standard care with virtual reality / standard care alone), aimed at measuring the effect on anxiety during the induction treatment. Acute myeloid leukemia is considered an oncological emergency that requires chemotherapy treatment with a high risk of serious adverse effects due to prolonged bone marrow failure or drug toxicity. This situation is very stressful for patients, who must cope with the initial symptoms, the diagnosis of a serious cancer, an urgent hospitalization (sometimes in intensive care) and prolonged hospitalization, invasive procedures for diagnosis and initiation of treatment, and intensive chemotherapy requiring protective isolation to contain the risk of life-threatening infection. Added to this care context is the breakdown of family ties as well as socio-professional ties, generating major anxiety and a risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (symptoms, which are common in acute myeloid leukemia. The hypothesis of our study is that hypnosis and virtual reality sessions combined with standard care could reduce anxiety and enhance chemotherapy treatment in acute myeloid leukemia patients when they first learn of their diagnosis.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Effect of an intervention combining standard care and virtual reality on the anxiety levels of patients at the end of induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia, compared to standard care and standard care with hypnosis — 35 days
  Change in anxiety score, measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

Trial sites (1)

More University Hospital, Toulouse trials in France

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