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African Health Sciences
Makerere University Medical School
ISSN: 1680-6905 EISSN: 1680-6905
Vol. 17, No. 1, 2017, pp. 138-146
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Bioline Code: hs17018
Full paper language: English
Document type: Study
Document available free of charge
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African Health Sciences, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2017, pp. 138-146
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The effect of a preanaesthesia clinic consultation on adult patient anxiety at a tertiary hospital in Kenya: a cohort study.
Kamau, Anthony; Mung’ayi, Vitalis & Yonga, Gerald
Abstract
Background: Preoperative anxiety is a common perioperative complication seen in approximately 11-80% of adults undergoing
surgery. One of the goals of the preanaesthesia clinic is to allay anxiety. A preanaesthesia clinic evaluation has been shown to
reduce anxiety however current studies on anxiety and the preanaesthesia clinic have not quantified this reduction.
Objective: To determine the reduction in anxiety in patients evaluated in the clinic versus those evaluated in the ward.
Methods: Fifty one adult patients with 28 patients in anaesthesia clinic (AC) group and 23 in the ward (W) group were sequentially
recruited from both the surgical, gynaecology and antenatal outpatient clinics and the wards. The patient’s State Trait Anxiety
Index (STAI) was taken once the patient was booked for theatre. The patients then had a preanaesthesia evaluation either in
the preanaesthesia outpatient clinic (PAC) or in the wards. Another STAI score was taken in the preoperative area in theatre on
the day of surgery. The difference in the change of STAI scores in both groups was then analysed.
Results: Fifty one adult patients were recruited with 28 in the AC group and 23 in the W group. The majority of patients were
female (n=38). Statistically significant difference was seen in the reduction of the anxiety scores between the clinic group 2.143
(C.I=1.384-2.902) and ward group 0.74(C.I=0.17-1.31) with a p value=0.0051.There was also significant difference in reduction
in anxiety scores within ward group in the patients with no prior anaesthetic experience having a greater reduction than those
with prior anaesthetic experience. There were no other significant differences between the two groups.
Conclusion: Patients evaluated in the anaesthesia clinic had a greater reduction in their anxiety but it was not as much as hypothesised
which may be due to the multi-factorial nature of preoperative anxiety. A larger multicenter study is recommended
to increase generalizability to the population.
Keywords
Preanaesthesia clinic; consultation on adult patient anxiety; cohort study; Kenya
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