Preoperative Anxiety among Adult Patients Undergoing Elective Surgeries at a Tertiary Teaching Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study during the Era of COVID-19 Vaccination.

Abdelkarim Aloweidi,Neebal Al-Gallab,Isam Bsisu,Lina Ghattas,Zaineh Marei,Sara Yaghi,Sham Romeo Alrabadi,Anas Al-Oweidi,Mahmoud Almustafa,Lina Hababeh,Sami Abu-Halaweh,Shatha Al-Jaberi

doi:10.3390/healthcare10030515

Abdelkarim Aloweidi, Neebal Al-Gallab + Show 10 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10030515

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Journal: Healthcare	Publication Date: Mar 11, 2022
Citations: 8	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Jordan

Abstract

Anxiety in the perioperative period has significant impact on both the flow of surgery and the post-operative recovery process. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to determine the prevalence of preoperative anxiety among adult patients undergoing elective surgical procedures at a tertiary teaching hospital and the effect of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines on preoperative anxiety. We used the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) to assess patients’ anxiety toward surgery and their need for more information. Patients with APAIS about anesthesia and surgery (APAIS-A-T) total score <10 were considered as the low preoperative anxiety group, while patients with APAIS-A-T ≥11 were considered as the high preoperative anxiety group. The overall APAIS-A-T score of the 794 included patients was 8.5 ± 4.5. The mean APAIS-A-T score was 7.0 ± 3.8 among males and 9.6 ± 4.6 among female patients (p < 0.001). The APAIS-A-T score for those who had previously underwent surgery under anesthesia was 8.3 ± 4.4, compared to 9.5 ± 4.8 for those who had not (p = 0.002). No significant difference was found between those with a previous history of COVID-19 and those without (p = 0.105), nor between those who were vaccinated and those who were not (p = 0.550). Sixty-four (26.8%) highly anxious patients were afraid of becoming infected with COVID-19 during their hospital stay (p = 0.009). This fear of COVID-19 in-hospital transmission made 19 (7.9%) highly anxious patients and 36 (4.5%) of the total sample hesitant to undergo this surgery (p = 0.002). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that 30.1% of patients had high preoperative anxiety, with fear of pain after surgery being the most common factor related to anxiety on the day of surgery. Controlling the spread of COVID-19 can play a crucial role in decreasing preoperative anxiety during this pandemic.

Highlights

A staggering 243.2 million surgical operations are performed worldwide each year, of which 7 million patients suffer a major complication and 1 million succumb to death [1]
* Patients with Amsterdam preoperative anxiety and information scale about anesthesia and surgery total score
This goes in line with the findings of a prior German study, which found that females are more likely to suffer from preoperative anxiety [13]

Summary

Introduction

A staggering 243.2 million surgical operations are performed worldwide each year, of which 7 million patients suffer a major complication and 1 million succumb to death [1]. These concerning statistics emphasize the need to become more vigilant and focus on the operative field in order to improve the healthcare outcome. A 2020 study found that 48% of surgical patients are anxious before their surgery [5]. This anxiety will have an impact on both the flow of the surgery and the post-operative recovery process [6–8]

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