Pre-Scan State and Trait Anxiety Among Cancer Patients Undergoing Bone Scintigraphy: A Cross-Sectional Study with Implications for Patient-Centered Care in Nuclear Medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Bone scintigraphy is a sensitive nuclear medicine imaging technique widely used to detect skeletal metastases in cancer patients. Although minimally invasive, anticipation of scan results and concerns regarding disease progression may provoke psychological distress. Understanding anxiety prior to bone scintigraphy is important for improving patient-centered care in nuclear medicine practice. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate pre-scan state and trait anxiety among cancer patients undergoing bone scintigraphy and to identify demographic factors associated with increased anxiety. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 228 cancer patients undergoing bone scintigraphy at a tertiary care university hospital in Thailand. Anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which includes 20 items each for state and trait anxiety. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic characteristics and anxiety levels. Group differences were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test, while Spearman's rank correlation was used to examine associations between age and anxiety scores. RESULTS: Most participants demonstrated low anxiety levels, with 67.4% exhibiting low state anxiety and 67.9% showing low trait anxiety. Moderate anxiety was observed in approximately one-third of patients, whereas high anxiety was not identified. Gender, educational level, occupation, and marital status were not significantly associated with anxiety scores (p > 0.05). However, age demonstrated a significant negative correlation with both state anxiety (p < 0.001) and trait anxiety (p = 0.001), indicating higher anxiety levels among younger patients. CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing bone scintigraphy generally experienced low anxiety levels. Younger age was significantly associated with higher pre-scan anxiety, highlighting the importance of supportive communication and patient-centered care in nuclear medicine practice. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Pre-procedural education may help reduce anxiety, particularly among younger patients.