Background: Surgery is associated with significant anxiety and stress in a majority of patients. Most medications used to achieve anxiolysis and sedation are limited by their side effects. 'Non-pharmacological hypnosis' is defined as a subjective state, during which alterations of perception and memory can be elicited by suggestions. Methods: In this prospective, observational study, hypnosis was used in fifteen patients for a range of surgeries; as a complementary technique to achieve sedation, establishment of intravenous (IV) access, and to decrease the anesthetic dose and postoperative nausea, vomiting. Results: Hypnosis successfully reduced the anxiety from a range of 45 to 90 (median of 60) to a range of 1 to 20 (median of 10). When calculated and analysed as means, the mean decrease was 56 (95% CI: 51.81, 60.04) with a p<0.001. Twelve out of fifteen patients had their intravenous access established under hypno-analgesia with no memory of that event. Thirteen patients had successful prevention of nausea, vomiting without antiemetics. Hypnosis also decreased the dose of induction agent in all patients having general anesthesia. Conclusion: Increasing knowledge and sophistication in anaesthesiology has given a wide spectrum of anesthetic agents and equipments to choose. However, achievement of sedation, anxiolysis and IV access are still areas of challenge which need more human interaction rather than administration of a miracle agent. We aim to demonstrate that hypnosis is well suited for such a purpose and should be utilised, at least in suitable patients.
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