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British Journal of Anaesthesia, Vol 81, Issue 4 522-525, Copyright © 1998 by The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Effect of anxiety on the rate of gastric emptying of liquids

A. Lydon, J. McGinley, T. Cooke, P. F. Duggan and G. D. Shorten
Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Cork University Hospital and University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Department of Biochemistry, Cork University Hospital and University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

The efficacy of preoperative fasting is reduced in the presence of any factor which delays gastric emptying. We examined the association between anxiety and gastric emptying in adult patients undergoing elective surgery. Immediately before operation, 21 patients completed both a Spielberger state trait inventory (used to quantify current anxiety state (STAIs) and anxiety predisposition (STAIt)), and the Amsterdam preoperative anxiety and information scale (used to quantify anxiety and need for information). Gastric emptying was measured using the paracetamol absorption technique. Four to 10 weeks later, gastric emptying and STAI were measured again. Patients were more anxious before than after operation (STAIs = mean 35.4 (SD 10.9) and 25 (4.1), respectively; P = 0.0004). Neither anxiety state (P = 0.40) nor measures of anxiety relative to anxiety predisposition (P = 0.86) influenced gastric emptying (as measured by area under the paracetamol absorption-time curve). This contrasts with previous findings that anxiety in patients with low anxiety predisposition scores delays gastric emptying.
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