To Estimate the Prevalence of Preoperative Anxiety among Adults Undergoing Elective Surgery at a Tertiary Care Center: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Patients may experience significant anxiety when facing surgery under anesthesia. Surgical procedures are often considered stressful. Excessive anxiety can cause a variety of unwanted outcomes like increased anaesthetic dosages, delayed recovery, prolonged stay at hospital, higher readmission rate and lower clientele satisfaction. Several factors can affect anxiety levels during surgery. The preoperative phase is considered as one of the most stressful period. Preoperative anxiety either not reported or under reported amongst Indian adults undergoing elective surgical procedures. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of preoperative anxiety among adults experiencing elective surgical procedures and to correlate the various factors to preoperative anxiety. Methodology: This observational study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital between 01 March 23 to 01 April 2024. A total of 362 adult patients planned for various elective procedures were asked six questions using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety Information Scale (APAIS) to evaluate their anxiety levels right before entering the operating room. An APAIS anxiety score of ≥11 was considered clinical anxiety. Probable contributing factors noted were gender, age, educational status, marital status, history of previous surgery, and grade of surgery. Results: The overall prevalence of anxiety was 77.62%. Anxiety rate was more among females (45.30%), compared to males (32.32%) ( P < 0.001). The preoperative anxiety was significantly correlated with age ( P = 0.005), gender ( P < 0.001), and educational status ( P = 0.022). The mean anxiety scores for anesthesia, surgery, and combined were 4.20, 5.58, and 9.79, respectively. There was a moderate correlation between the need-to-know scores and both the anesthesia anxiety score (Pearson’s coefficient r = 0.495) and the combined anxiety score (Pearson’s coefficient r = 0.554). Conclusions: The result revealed a prevalence of preoperative anxiety of 77.62% and was significantly more in females, younger age, higher education, and patients without previous experience with anesthesia and surgery.