Comparison of methods to relieve preoperative anxiety in children

Preoperative anxiety is the state of anxiety and anxiety experienced by a person before surgery. The most common reasons for this condition, which is common in children, are separation from family members, being in a foreign environment, fear of surgery and anesthesia, and fear of feeling pain during and after the operation. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods can be used to reduce preoperative anxiety in children. It is predicted that preoperative anxiety and postoperative negativities in children can be prevented with these methods. In this observational study; We examined the effectiveness of non-pharmacological premedication methods on preoperative anxiety in pediatric cases. The aim of our study was to compare the effectiveness of non-pharmacological premedication methods such as tablets and Virtual reality (VR) glasses, and watching "Şüko is Having Surgery", an informative animation about surgery, in reducing preoperative anxiety in children. In our study, American Society of Anesthesia (ASA) I-II group, aged 7-12, who will undergo outpatient pediatric surgery at the Anesthesiology and Reanimation Clinic at Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine between April and August 2024, were informed about the study and gave written and verbal consent from their parents. It was performed on 76 patients. Children who were planned to be operated on were taken to the preoperative room with their parents before the operation, then they were informed about the research, their written and verbal consent was obtained, and they were included in the study. The Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) was administered to the children before animation and premedication. The mYPAS score in the preoperative room was recorded. Patients were shown animations using whatever device they wanted. The patients were divided into three groups: Group A (those who watched the animated film 'Şüko is Having Surgery' with a tablet), Group B (those who watched the animated film 'Şüko is Having Surgery' with VR glasses) and Group C (the control group who did not want both and used routine premedication methods). left. Age, gender, weight, height, ASA risk status, body mass index (BMI), presence/absence of surgical history, type and duration of surgery, and anesthesia duration in minutes (min) were recorded for all patients included in the study. Among the parental characteristics: The age, education level, occupational status, being a half/brother and income level of both were recorded. After the patients were taken to the operating room, the mYPAS scale was repeated to the children on the table. After all patients were taken to the operating room and monitored, a mask compliance scale was also applied to the children. Statistical analysis of the recorded data was performed. When the findings were examined, there was no significant difference between the demographic characteristics and preoperative mYPAS scores of the groups. Both mYPAS and mask fit scale scores in the operating room were significantly higher in the Tablet group than in the SG and control groups. In conclusion; It was observed that the use of VR glasses, one of the non-pharmacological premedication methods, reduced preoperative anxiety and improved mask compliance in children. We think that the use of virtual reality glasses can be used as an alternative to pharmacological premedication methods. Key words: Child, Preoperative Anxiety, Virtual Reality, Animated Movie