Preoperative anxiety in neurosurgical patients

Authors

  • Ľubica Koprdová Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Work St. Ladislav, Nové Zámky, St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social work in Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author
  • Ľubica Libová Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Work St. Ladislav, Nové Zámky, St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social work in Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1107-573X
  • Dana Brázdilová Department of Clinical Disciplines and Urgent Medicine, Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Care, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra,  Slovak Republic, Slovak Republic Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2005-1345
  • Andrea Sollárová 1. Department of Nursing, Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Care, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovak Republic, Slovak Republic; 2. Department of Health Care Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic, Czech Republic Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6174-4797

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12923/pielxxiw-2026-0008

Keywords:

anxiety, surgery, neurosurgery, patients, preoperative period

Abstract

PREOPERATIVE ANXIETY IN NEUROSURGICAL PATIENTS

Aim. Preoperative anxiety is a risk factor for various psychophysiological reactions in patients, which increases need for anaesthesia, prolonged hospitalisation, and overall convalescence. The purpose of the study was to detect the incidence of anxiety in patients before neurosurgical operations and assess the impact of time to operation and selected demographic factors on the occurrence of anxiety.

Material and methods. The study was approved by the Hospital Ethics Committee. A cross-sectional study design was used. The sample consisted of 108 respondents. The average age was 58.16 years (SD = 12.49). Data were collected in a preoperative period in patients before their planned operations. Preoperative anxiety was assessed by the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale. The data were analysed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 22, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Wilcoxon test, and the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results. Anxiety and need for information varied over time to the date of operation with an increasing trend between Measurements 1 and 2 (p < 0.001) and between Measurements 1 and 3 (p < 0.001), with a greater increase in females. No statistically signifi cant relationship between preoperative anxiety and age was found.

Conclusions. The fi ndings support the need for preoperative anxiety assessment in neurosurgical patients.

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Published

2026-04-15

How to Cite

Koprdová, Ľubica, Libová, Ľubica, Brázdilová, D., & Sollárová, A. (2026). Preoperative anxiety in neurosurgical patients. Nursing in the 21st Century, 25(1(94), 20-24. https://doi.org/10.12923/pielxxiw-2026-0008