Effect of Weighted Blanket Versus Traditional Practices on Anxiety and Pain in Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Perioperative anxiety is common in surgical patients and linked to poor outcomes. This multicenter randomized controlled trial assessed the effect of the use of a warm weighted blanket on presurgical anxiety and pain, as well as postsurgical restlessness, nausea, and vomiting. Levels of anxiety and pain were measured in adult patients using a 100-point visual analog scale before elective surgery. Patients received either a warm weighted blanket (n = 74) or a traditional sheet or nonweighted blanket (n = 74). Patients in the intervention group had significantly lower preoperative anxiety scores (mean [SD] = 26.28 [25.75]) compared to the control group (mean [SD] = 38.73 [30.55], P = .008). However, the intervention had no significant effect on presurgical pain or postsurgical nausea, vomiting, or restlessness. These results suggest that weighted blankets reduce preoperative anxiety in adult patients.

Weighted Blankets: Anxiety Reduction in Adult Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Weighted blankets have been used as a deep touch pressure (DTP) tool to alleviate anxiety in many patient populations. Patients with cancer can experience anxiety related to diagnosis and treatments, such as chemotherapy infusions. Research on the effectiveness of weighted blankets as a DTP tool to alleviate anxiety in patients receiving chemotherapy is limited. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the effectiveness of a medical-grade therapeutic weighted blanket on anxiety in patients receiving their first and second chemotherapy infusions at an outpatient infusion center. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial with a crossover design was performed with new patients in the outpatient chemotherapy infusion center. Patients were randomized to one of two study arms (given the weighted blanket during their first infusion or given the weighted blanket during their second infusion). Anxiety was measured using an anxiety inventory and a visual analog scale. FINDINGS: Anxiety was reduced among patients receiving chemotherapy when the weighted blanket was used. Based on the results, a standard-weight, medical-grade therapeutic weighted blanket can be safely used to reduce anxiety in patients of various weights, and a visual analog scale can be a reliable indicator of patients' state anxiety.