ABSTRACT
Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 which spreads throughout the world, including Indonesia, and causes quite high anxiety for patients. One way to detect COVID-19 is the RT-PCR method. This method is a must and is applied to preoperative patients in the operating room. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of anxiety in preoperative patients with RT-PCR. swab results. Methods: Correlation Analytic with a Cross-Sectional Approach The population was preoperative patients with an RT-PCR swab procedure in the operating room in July-September 2021. There were 36 respondents with purposive sampling. Anxiety instrument with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HARS). The data were analyzed by using the Spearman Rho test. Results: The results of this study showed that the most dominant level of anxiety experienced was moderate anxiety, with an anxiety level of 30.6%, while the level of severe anxiety reached 13.9%. The Spearman test showed that there was a relationship between the results of the RT-PCR swab and the level of anxiety in preoperative patients, namely a very strong relationship p = 0.000 (p <0.05) and r = 0.594. Conclusion: The implication of the study showed that the results of the RT-PCR swab detection of Covid-19 preoperative patients had the most positive reaction when the patient had delayed surgery and would undergo self-isolation. The anxiety level of preoperative patients was the highest, with most experiencing moderate anxiety due to the delay in surgery, then multiplying leaflets as a tool to provide education on surgical services and management of preoperative surgical precautions before undergoing RT-PCR swabs.