Relationship between preschool children and the caregiver's preoperative anxiety. A cross study assessing modified Yale preoperative anxiety Scale (m-YPAS)

Anxiety is a common event in children before surgery. Several ways have been proposed to assess the level of anxiety in pediatric patients. The modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (m-Ypas) was developed recently and allows the assessment of anxiety level from the observation of children's attitudes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of variables such as anxiety of caregivers (parents or relatives), preoperative fasting and previous surgical experiences on children's anxiety assessing m-YPAS. METHODS: We evaluated 39 preschool children submitted to elective surgery at a tertiary hospital in Sorocaba-Brazil. After preanesthetic evaluation, performed immediately after admission, children were referred to the pediatric ward where they were observed by the evaluator who applied the scale m-Ypas. Scores above 30 points were considered as anxiety. The level of caregivers's anxiety was evaluated assessing a linear visual scale of 0 to 10 points. Values a bove 3 were considered positive for anxiety. All children were premedicated with oral midazolam. Fasting time and the presence, or absence, of prior surgery were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty nine children were evaluated. The anxiety was observed in 36% of children and in 92% of caregivers. Children's anxiety was not related to caregiver's anxiety (p = 0.70). Fasting time (p = 0.28) or the presence, or absence, of previous surgery (p = 0:09) were not related to children's anxiety as well. CONCLUSION: The caregiver's anxiety, preoperative fasting time and previous surgery were not considered predictive factors for higher or lower level of preoperative anxiety in children