Assessment of preoperative anxiety in patients under general anesthesia. observational study. Evaluación de la ansiedad preoperatoria en pacientes sometidos a anestesia general. Estudio observacional

Abstract

Introduction. Anxiety is an adaptive response of the human being to danger. The surgical anesthetic act is considered a generator of anxiety that is related to greater vulnerability and difficult control of postoperative pain, prolonged hospital stay, higher rate of anesthetic events and vulnerability to infections. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of preoperative anxiety in a group of patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). Methods. A cross-sectional observational study performed with surgical patients who received general anesthesia at a third-level hospital. Sociodemographic and clinical information were obtained. Prevalence of preoperative anxiety was estimated by using the APAIS scale (cut of 11) and potential associated factors were evaluated. A descriptive analysis and crude odds ratios were calculated. In addition, a logistic regression model was constructed to adjust the effect of covariates. Results. Prevalence of anxiety was 13% [IC95% 7%-18%]. No variables were found to be significantly associated with the presence of anxiety. 76.8% of the participants had a low need for information. Women, outpatients, ASA I classification and patients under major surgery without a history of previous surgical procedures presented a higher frequency of anxiety. The majority of patients presented a low need for information (76.8%). After the adjusted analysis, there were no variables related to the presentation of anxiety. Conclusions. A low prevalence of anxiety and a low need for information on the part of the participants were documented. It is necessary to do further research in this area in Colombia.