An evaluation of preoperative anxiety in a population of parents of infants and children undergoing ambulatory surgery

We attempted to identify specific predictors of preoperative parental anxiety in a population of parents of healthy infants and children undergoing elective, outpatient surgery. We specifically examined the following factors: age of the child, whether or not the child had previous surgery, whether or not the parents' other children had previous surgery, parental gender, highest level of education obtained by the parent, and whether or not there was prior discussion between the parent and anaesthesiologist. In the immediate preoperative period, a questionnaire (State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory) was given to all parents of infants and children presenting for elective, outpatient surgery. Six hundred parents of 417 children, aged two months to 16 years (mean = 4.5 years), participated in the study. They included 388 mothers and 212 fathers. Our results indicate that parents are more anxious when their child is less than one year of age and when it is the child's first surgery. When assessed separately by parental gender, both these factors were significant for mothers but not their fathers. We recommend that, although anaesthesiologists generally tailor their preoperative preparation based upon the best needs of their patients and families, they pay special attention to the groups we have identified which are at increased risk for preoperative anxiety.