Pre-operative anxiety in patients admitted for elective surgery in King Saud hospital, Unaizah, Al-Qassim Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

To assess the Pre-Operative Anxiety and to further the planning of health education and counseling programme. Background; Hospitalized patients generally feel frightened and vulnerable at the thought of impending surgery which can produce fear and anxiety related to pain perception. Pain can grow out of proportion to its physical intensity due to unfamiliar environment, loss of privacy, separation from social structure or communication difficulties due to cultural and/or language barriers. Patients may perceive the day of surgery as the biggest and the most threatening day in their lives. Studies show, [depending upon the intensity of inquiry], that from 40% to 85% of patients are apprehensive before surgery. It is claimed that an informative and comforting pre-operative visit may replace many milligrams of anxiolytic medication. Methodology: A survey form was designed to record the patient's point of view. One hundred consecutive patients > 12 years of age belonging to both sexes admitted for elective surgery were enrolled for interview. Fifty five% of the total number of patients expressed the fear of operation. The younger age group [< 38 years] were more apprehensive compared to elderly. The differences in this degree of fear did not correlate with the gender or level of literacy