Evaluating the Claustrophobia Questionnaire to Assess for Claustrophobia Before MRI Imaging in Oncology Patients

Introduction Cancer treatment often necessitates the use of enclosed imaging devices such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, which can trigger claustrophobia in patients due to the small magnet bore. The Claustrophobia Questionnaire (CLQ) has demonstrated reliability and validity in assessment of claustrophobia, but it has not been tested in oncology patients undergoing MRI exams. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of assessing claustrophobia before MRI using the CLQ in the oncology patient population of a single-center, tertiary care cancer hospital. Literature Review Two tools in the literature have demonstrated reliability and validity in the assessment of claustrophobia, the CLQ and the Claustrophobia Scale. Only the CLQ has been tested in the MRI setting. The single question inquiry about claustrophobia was not sufficient to assess for Claustrophobia. The generalizability of the CLQ is limited because it has not been tested in the oncology population. Methods This prospective, cross-sectional, single-group design included a convenience sample of oncology patients (n = 240) undergoing MRI scans over a 12-week period. Eligible patients were English-speaking, adult outpatients included scheduled for an MRI at the main campus. Patients were excluded if they did not have access to the internet. The reliable and validated CLQ consists of 26 Likert scale items. An open-ended question asked participants’ impression of the questionnaire items. Prior to the MRI, participants were administered the CLQ through an online platform. Patients were offered educational material after completing the CLQ. Prior to the MRI, preliminary data about previous MRI experiences were collected. After the MRI exam, the participants recorded their experience. Data Analysis Data were analyzed using SPSS v27. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participant demographics, questionnaire responses, and patient experience with MRI. Patient responses were coded by the primary and senior authors using a qualitative descriptive method. Results Overall, 99.6% of patients successfully completed their MRI. In total, 90% of patients completed the questionnaire before the MRI, and 0.8% stated that the questionnaire evoked anxiety due to the questionnaire itself. The majority of patients did not report claustrophobic events during their MRI, which limited the ability to draw correlations between the CLQ and the MRI outcome. Conclusion The CLQ evoked negative emotions in a population that was mostly able to complete the MRI successfully. Additional research is needed to develop a valid tool to assess MRI-associated claustrophobia in a manner that is acceptable to oncology patients.