A Randomized Clinical Hypnosis Pilot Study: Improvements in Self-Reported Pain Impact in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by recurrent painful vasoocclusive crises. Current evidence focuses on the frequency of acute pain crises resulting in emergency department use and nonplanned inpatient hospital admissions; yet few studies focus on pain sequelae outside the healthcare system or how individuals self-manage their chronic SCD-related pain. This study investigated the feasibility of a biobehavioral intervention as an adjunct nonpharmacological therapy to assist in the self-management of chronic pain. A randomized, controlled clinical trial of hypnosis was conducted in outpatients with SCD (n = 31). Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) administered at baseline, five, and twelve weeks from both groups included pain frequency, intensity, and quality (Pain Impact Scale (PIQ) and Numerical Rating Scales); anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), coping strategies (Coping Strategies Scale), sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)), and depression (Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)). The same PROs were collected at weeks seventeen and twenty-four from the control group after the crossover. No significant group by time interaction effects were found in any of the PROs based on the repeated-measures mixed models. The PIQ and PSQI scores decreased over time in both groups. Post hoc pairwise comparisons with the Bonferroni adjustment indicated that the mean PIQ score at baseline decreased significantly by week 12 ( p = 0.01) in the hypnosis group. There were no significant changes across time before and after the crossover in any of the PROs in the control group. As suggested by these findings, pain impact and sleep in individuals with SCD may be improved through guided mind-body and self-care approaches such as hypnosis.