Impact of nurse-led comprehensive care on compliance, image quality, and family satisfaction during pediatric MRI sedation: A retrospective study

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nurse-led pediatric MRI sedation care on child compliance and family satisfaction during cranial MRI examinations. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 275 children aged 1–3 years. Based on the different MRI sedation care methods, they were defined into a routine care group​ (n = 149), which received standard sedation care led by physicians or according to a protocol without a dedicated nursing role, and a nurse-led group​ (n = 126), which received comprehensive sedation care led by nurses before the MRI examination. Child compliance was assessed through sleep onset time, success rates of examination completion (first vs. second positioning), and image quality scores. Family satisfaction was measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Physiological stress (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) and family negative emotional status (Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, SAS; Self-Rating Depression Scale, SDS) were evaluated before and after MRI. Adverse reactions were recorded within 24 h. Compared to the routine group, the nurse-led group had a higher proportion of children falling asleep within 20 min (84.92 % vs. 68.46 %, P = 0.001) and a higher first-positioning success rate (84.13 % vs. 68.46 %, P = 0.003). Image quality meeting the standard was higher in the nurse-led group (93.65 % vs. 82.55 %, P = 0.005). Family satisfaction was significantly higher (97.62 % vs. 87.92 %, P = 0.003). Post-examination physiological stress (HR: 108.49 vs. 109.76, P = 0.023; SBP: 85.62 vs. 87.53, P = 0.025; DBP: 55.53 vs. 56.94, P = 0.016) and negative emotional scores (SAS: 47.81 vs. 49.18, P = 0.015; SDS: 48.76 vs. 50.48, P = 0.005) were lower. The overall incidence of adverse reactions was lower (18.25 % vs. 30.2 %, P = 0.022). Nurse-led pediatric MRI sedation care improves child compliance, image quality, family satisfaction, and reduces physiological stress and adverse reactions.