Pre-operative anxiety. Effect of early or late position on the operating list.

The influence of the relative position on the operating list on pre-operative anxiety was studied in 60 adult female ASA 1 patients undergoing major surgery. Thirty patients were placed first on the operating list (group 1) and 30 were given a time 4-5 h later (group 2). Each patient was visited on the evening prior to surgery and again on the morning of surgery. Anxiety was measured at each visit by objective criteria and part 1 of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire. The pulse rate, systolic blood pressure and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire scores were higher on the second visit than on the first (p < 0.001) in all patients. This increase was greater in group 2 than in group 1 (p < 0.05). The evening anxiety scores were not correlated with those on the morning visit and could not predict them.