Prospective Observational Study of the Non Invasive Objective Assessment of Pre-operative Anxiety Using the Heart Rate Variability and the Pupillary Reflex Measurement

The prevalence of preoperative anxiety in adults is estimated between 60 and 80% and prevents a good integration of the information delivered, while seeking more attention from caregivers. In addition, anxious patients require the administration of higher doses of hypnotics at anesthetic induction. The pain expressed in the postoperative period is proportional to preoperative anxiety, with a slower recovery kinetics responsible for prolonged stay in the recovery room. Finally, the incidence of chronic pain is correlated with the intensity of preoperative anxiety.

While the recommendations of the European Anesthesia Society (ESA) emphasize the importance of managing preoperative anxiety, this dimension is often overlooked and existing methods of assessment are time consuming and sometime inaccurate.

Objective screening with dynamic monitoring of the level of anxiety in real time is the necessary step to ensure accurate detection and personalized management of the emotional state of patients before performing an invasive procedure.

Anxiety is an emotional state reflecting an imbalance of cortico-frontal regulation on the limbic system. The interaction between these two neuronal systems is expressed in particular by the intensity of the vagal tone and the autonomic nervous system. Exploring the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is a promising avenue of exploration for identifying, predicting, and treating anxiety.

Two reliable and easy-to-use devices analyzing the expression of the autonomic nervous system validated in the analysis of nociception in the awake patient or under general anesthesia are marketed: