The awareness of being observed changes the patient's psychological well-being in anesthesia

Many anesthesiologists realize that patients who perceive themselves to be the target of particular interest and attention change their behavior. This change, a result of the awareness of being under observation, is called the "Hawthorne effect" (1). Moreover, it was shown more than 30 yr ago that the meeting between patient and anesthetist and the type of information given can influence postoperative morbidity (2,3), although contradictory studies were published later (4-9). The aim of our study was to show the presence of the Hawthorne effect in routine anesthesiology practice and to quantify it in terms of psychological well-being (primary endpoint) and other signs and symptoms.