Korean J Anesthesiol.  2010 Apr;58(4):328-333. 10.4097/kjae.2010.58.4.328.

Availability of preoperative anxiety scale as a predictive factor for hemodynamic changes during induction of anesthesia

• Kim WS
• Byeon GJ
• Song BJ
• Lee HJ

• KMID: 2299328
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2010.58.4.328

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The current study evaluated whether the level of preoperative anxiety assessed by the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) affects cardiovascular response during anesthetic induction. Furthermore, we evaluated the utility of the preoperative anxiety scale as a predictive factor for hemodynamic changes.
METHODS
One hundred twenty patients who were scheduled to undergo elective surgery under general anesthesia were enrolled in this prospective study. The patients were asked to fill out STAI questionnaires the night before the day of surgery. For 5 minutes after tracheal intubation, changes in vital signs were recorded. The correlation between STAI scores and the percent changes in vital signs during the induction of anesthesia for each subgroup was assessed. In addition, the predictability of the 20% change in vital signs by STAI scores was analyzed using receiver operating characteristics curves.
RESULTS
The state anxiety scores of patients 45 years of age or older showed a significant correlation with percent changes in mean blood pressure and heart rate, whereas the state anxiety scores in other subgroups showed no significant correlation with changes in vital signs during the induction of anesthesia. Furthermore, the state anxiety scores in patients 45 years of age or older were shown to be useful in predicting a 20% change in vital signs during anesthetic induction.
CONCLUSIONS
The state anxiety scores of patients 45 years of age or above could be a useful tool for predicting changes in vital signs during anesthetic induction. Thus, physician should be mindful of preoperative anxiety.

Keyword

Anesthesia; Anxiety; Hemodynamics; Intratracheal intubation; State trait anxiety inventory

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia
Anesthesia, General
Anxiety
Blood Pressure
Heart Rate
Hemodynamics
Humans
Intubation
Intubation, Intratracheal
Prospective Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
ROC Curve
Vital Signs