Skip Navigation



BJA Advance Access published online on May 30, 2009
British Journal of Anaesthesia, doi:10.1093/bja/aep136
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
103/2/199    most recent
aep136v1
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow E-letters: View responses
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wetsch, W. A.
Right arrow Articles by Benzer, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wetsch, W. A.
Right arrow Articles by Benzer, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Board of Directors of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournal.org

Preoperative stress and anxiety in day-care patients and inpatients undergoing fast-track surgery

W. A. Wetsch1, I. Pircher1, W. Lederer1,*, J. F. Kinzl2, C. Traweger4, P. Heinz-Erian3 and A. Benzer1

1 Department of Operational Medicine, Division of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine,
2 Department of Psychiatry, Division of Psychosocial Medicine
3 Department of Paediatrics, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstr. 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
4 Institute of Political Science, University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

* Corresponding author. E-mail: wolfgang.lederer{at}i-med.ac.at

Background: To investigate preoperative levels of stress and anxiety in day-care patients and inpatients undergoing surgical interventions.

Methods: Before induction of anaesthesia, the degree of stress and anxiety was assessed in 135 patients using stress and anxiety questionnaires, bio-feedback, physiological measures, and serum levels for stress variables. Questionnaire responses and physiological measures such as arterial pressure, heart rate, skin conductance, cortisol, and catecholamine levels were compared for day-care patients and inpatients.

Results: Significant preoperative anxiety was reported by 34 (45.3%) inpatients and 23 (38.3%) day-care patients. Personal responses in stress and anxiety questionnaires and mean values of arterial pressure and heart rate did not differ significantly in day-care patients when compared with inpatients. Correlation between deviations in plasma cortisol concentrations from normal diurnal distribution and anxiety scores and stress scores was also similar, and the relative increase in preoperative stress variables and measures observed in day-care patients and inpatients was also comparable. Bio-feedback measurements revealed significantly higher preoperative skin conductance (P<0.001) in day-care patients than in inpatients, indicating increased vegetative stress responses.

Conclusions: Preoperative anxiety and stress are common in surgical patients. Questionnaires and bio-feedback measurements may help to assess the degree of patients’ burdens. Surgeons should be aware of the personal anxiety of patients and consider patient preferences when deciding who should undergo fast-track surgery in day-care.

Keywords: anaesthesia, day-case; stress; surgery, day-case


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


E-letters:

Read all E-letters

Fast-track surgery, what about patient’s selection?
Hany Shawkat, et al.
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 18 Aug 2009 [Full text]
Fast-track anaesthesia and patient selection
Wolfgang Lederer
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 21 Sep 2009 [Full text]

Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.