[Psychological aspects of preoperative anxiety].

Admission to hospital for surgery is universally accepted as a stressful situation, provoking a certain level of anxiety in all patients. Anxiety is an unpleasant emotion and may cause patients to avoid planned operation. It also may adversely influence anesthetic induction and patient recovery. Many studies are performed to identify and quantify the risk factors of preoperative anxiety. A multitude of research has shown a positive correlation between preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain. Preoperative anxiety has been suggested as a predictor of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Preoperative anxiety is a great challenge for the anesthesiologist. There are many opened questions about the identification certain patient characteristics that predispose to high anxiety and description the quantity and quality of anxiety that patients experience preoperatively.