Relationship between heart rate variability and preoperative anxiety assessed by Verbal Analogue Scale and Surgical Fear Questionnaire before cataract surgery

Editor—Assessing preoperative anxiety accurately is crucial for providing appropriate care and support to patients. Recent European guidelines in anaesthesia recommend systematic preoperative anxiety management to prevent its negative perioperative impact, 1 De Hert S. Staender S. Fritsch G. et al. Pre-operative evaluation of adults undergoing elective non cardiac surgery: updated guideline from the European Society of Anaesthesiology. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2018; 35: 407-465 Crossref PubMed Scopus (240) Google Scholar including impaired memory of important instructions and higher incidence of postoperative acute and chronic pain. Usual self-administered questionnaires or scales to assess anxiety in the preoperative setting are time consuming for the nursing staff. In addition, the ways in which patients verbally report anxiety are modified by personality characteristics, gender, culture, and prior surgical experience. 2 Millar K. Jelicic M. Bonke B. Asbury A.J. Assessment of pre- operative anxiety: comparison of measures in patients awaiting surgery for breast cancer. Br J Anaesth. 1995; 74: 180-183 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (196) Google Scholar