Preoperative Anxiety in the Tertiary Care Hospitals of Sousse, Tunisia: Prevalence and Predictors

Background: Preoperative anxiety is crucial for the surgery outcome, the post operative recovery and the hospitalization cost. Aims: To determine the prevalence of preoperative anxiety and its predictors among elective surgery patients in Sousse, Tunisia. Methods: Cross sectional study was conducted in the 2 tertiary care hospitals of the region of Sousse, Tunisia during March 2016. All patients scheduled for elective surgery in 5 randomly selected surgery departments were included. Data were collected on the hospitals wards within 24 hours before surgery using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety Information Scale. Results: Participants accounted for 332. Their mean age was 47.5 (±15.5) years. Females represented 53%. Preoperative anxiety was identified among 67.5% of them while 42.2% had important need for information, High grade of surgery and high level of information requirement were the main predictors of preoperative anxiety with adjusted odds ratios of 9 (CI95% : 3.4-23.8) and 1.5 (CI95% : 1.3-1.7) respectively. Conclusion: High prevalence of preoperative anxiety and important need for information were identified among elective surgery patients of Sousse. Doctors should enhance their communication skills and attribute much more time for communication with their patients before surgery. Key words: Anxiety; Preoperative Period; Prevention And Contro