• Romy Yun, Olivia Hess, Kristin Kennedy, Paul A Stricker, Lindsay Blake, and Thomas J Caruso.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Stanford, California, USA.
• Paediatr Anaesth. 2023 Mar 1; 33 (3): 243249243-249.

AbstractPerioperative anxiety and distress are common in pediatric patients undergoing general anesthesia and increase the risk for immediate and long-term postoperative complications. This concise review outlines key research and clinically-relevant scales that measure pediatric perioperative affect. Strengths and weaknesses of each scale are highlighted. A literature review identified 11 articles with the following inclusion criteria: patients less than or equal to 18 years, perioperative anxiety or distress, and original studies with reliability or validity data. Although robust research-based assessment tools to measure anxiety have been developed, such as the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, they are too complex and time-consuming to complete by clinicians also providing anesthesia. Clinically-based anxiety measurement scales tend to be easier to use, however they require further testing before widespread standard utilization. The HRAD ± scale (Happy, Relaxed, Anxious, Distressed, with a yes/no answer to cooperation) may be a promising observational anxiety scale that is efficient and includes an assessment of compliance. Further studies are needed to refine a clinically-relevant anxiety assessment tool and appraise interventions that reduce perioperative distress.© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

21 keywords...

hide…