Preoperative Anxiety Levels in Patients Undergoing Surgery During the 4th Wave of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. A Prospective Observational Study

Studies have been conducted on the stress and anxiety induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in both the general population as well as specific groups, such as health care workers, pregnant women and adolescents. Given that anxiety has a strong bearing on the physical, mental and emotional well-being of the patients and their subsequent recovery from surgery and other procedures, we were interested in assessing anxiety among the patients presenting for elective procedures in the post-lockdown phase of the pandemic. The primary objective of the present study was to assess the anxiety levels among the preoperative patients scheduled for surgeries in the 4th wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the secondary objective was to assess the factors accentuating the same. The modified Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mPAS) questionnaire as given in the article by Viola et al will be used after permission from the authors.