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Anxiety in surgical patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Marie Johnston
Marie Johnston*
Affiliation:
Department of Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Marie Johnston, Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG.
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Synopsis

The natural course of anxiety before and after surgery was examined using the State– Trait Anxiety Inventory in 4 studies involving 136 surgical patients. The results suggested that high levels of anxiety were experienced before admission to hospital, between admission and surgery and following surgery, and were not restricted to the immediate pre-operative period. Only a small percentage of patients reached their maximum level of anxiety on the morning of surgery.

These results have implications for those planning interventions to alleviate anxiety associated with surgery and for those studying surgical stress as a model for other naturally occurring stresses.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , February 1980 , pp. 145 - 152
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

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