Abstract
BackgroundPreoperative anxiety is one of the most important problems for the patients, because it causes emotional and psychiatric problems as well as physical problems. It is crucial to detect the patient’s existing anxiety to assist patients. Our primary aim in this study is to investigate how the patient’s age, gender, the operation, surgical briefing, type of anesthesia recommended for the operation ahead, and patient’s prior anesthesia experience affect the patient’s anxieties. Our secondary aim is to reveal the causes of the patient’s anxieties regarding anesthesia.MethodsOur study was conducted as a prospective cohort study between May 2016–2017. Interviews with the patients were performed in the anesthesia clinic for preoperative examination. For the study, The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) has been used. The answers were evaluated in two scales: the anxiety score and the desire for information score. Answers to the statements were evaluated with Likert Scale. In addition, our patients were asked whether they had received prior anesthesia, if so, the type of anesthesia, whether they received surgical briefing and anesthetic method we recommended. We also asked our patients about the cause of their anxiety regarding the anesthesia.ResultsA total of 637 patients were recruited to the study, after excluding the patients who do not meet the criteria for inclusion, and 499 patients were included. Between the age and desire for information sub-scores, a negative significant correlation was detected (r: − 0.241; p = 0.001). We found that the scores of graduates of university and higher were statistically significant than the primary school graduates (p = 0.003) and secondary school graduates (p = 0.034). Anxiety sub-scores of the patients who underwent general anesthesia were found to be significantly higher than the patients who underwent regional anesthesia (p = 0.029). Anxiety sub-scores of females were found to be significantly higher than the males (p = 0.001).ConclusionsWe think that being aware of the patients’ anxiety and finding appropriate approaches for their anxieties can be valuable. APAIS is an effective method to measure patient anxiety and it might be beneficial to use during preoperative visits. Patient satisfaction and superior outcomes can be achieved in this way.Trial registration ISRCTN43960422. Registered 19/02/2018—Retrospectively registered. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN43960422
Highlights
Preoperative anxiety is one of the most important problems for the patients, because it causes emotional and psychiatric problems as well as physical problems [1]
Our primary aim in this study is to investigate how the patient’s age, gender, the operation, surgical briefing, type of anesthesia recommended for the operation ahead, and patient’s prior anesthesia experience affect the patient’s anxieties regarding anesthesia and surgery
A total of 637 patients were recruited to the study, but after excluding the patients who do not meet the criteria for inclusion, 499 patients were included
Summary
Preoperative anxiety is one of the most important problems for the patients, because it causes emotional and psychiatric problems as well as physical problems [1]. Because it has the potential to affect all aspects of anesthesia such as preoperative visit, induction, perioperative, and recovery periods [2, 3]. The exact etiology of anxiety can be due to anesthesia, surgery, and several other different reasons [7,8,9]. Preoperative anxieties of the patients scheduled for surgery can be evaluated using APAIS. Preoperative anxiety is one of the most important problems for the patients, because it causes emotional and psychiatric problems as well as physical problems. Our secondary aim is to reveal the causes of the patient’s anxieties regarding anesthesia
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