The effect of pre-coronary computed tomography angiography education on patient anxiety and image quality

This study was conducted as a pre-trial study to determine the effect of pre-imaging education on anxiety and image quality in patients undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography. The research was conducted between November 15, 2024 and June 30, 2025 with 180 patients who applied to the tomography unit of the radiology department of Başkent University Alanya Application and Research Center and underwent coronary computed tomography angiography. Data were collected using the "Patient Data Collection Form", the "STAI-TX-1 (state anxiety)" and "STAI-TX-2 (trait anxiety)" scales. One-way analysis of variance, t-test, Wilkonson signed-runk test, and Pearson correlation tests were used in data analysis. It was found that the mean STAI-1 state anxiety scores of the patients decreased statistically significantly after training (p < 0.001). Patients with mean STAI-2 scores ≥40 (n = 96) had lower image quality scores (p > 0.05) and fewer visible segments (5.61 vs. 6.35, p = 0.0026). It was found that patients with mean STAI-1 anxiety scores <35 after training (n = 146) had significantly increased segment visibility (6.09 vs. 5.38, p = 0.0117). Heart rate decreased significantly after training (p = 0.045); however, no significant change was observed in blood pressure. Image quality was found to be worse in patients with a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) (>25) and those who were female (p = 0.026 and p = 0.015, respectively). In conclusion, structured audiovisual training before coronary computed tomography angiography significantly reduced anxiety, improved diagnostic image quality, contributed to physiological stabilization, and increased coronary vessel visibility, especially in patients with high baseline anxiety.