The effect of preoperative anxiety levels of patients undergoing lumbar laminectomy on postoperative pain

Anxiety and depression are among the psychological risk factors affecting the severity of postoperative pain. This research was conducted in descriptive type to determine the effect of preoperative anxiety and depression levels on postoperative pain levels in patients undergoing lumbar disc herniation. Between June 2015 and June 2016, the patients who underwent lumbar laminectomy and discectomy under general anesthesia with the diagnosis of LDH at the Namık Kemal University Research and Application Center Neurosurgery Clinic complied with the study criteria and included the first 60 patients who accepted to participate. The data were collected by using consisting of 8 questions "Personal Information Form" which developed by researcher, consisting of 14 questions "Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)" and "Visual Pain Scale (VAS)". When the pre-operative anxiety and depression findings of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) surgery were examined; the mean score of anxiety (HAD-A) was 7.60 (SS = 3.61) and the mean score of depression (HAD-D) was 6.63 (ss = 3.68). HAD-A and HAD-D scores of male patients were significantly higher than female patients. The mean post-operative VAS score of the patients who participated in the study was 5.13 (ss = 1.50). There was a moderate positive correlation between HAD-A subscale score and VAS scores (r = 0.528, p <0.01). There was a moderately positive correlation between HAD-D subscale scores and VAS scores (r = 0.569, p <0.01). This study shows that it is possible to detect patients who are at risk of experiencing severe pain after surgery. The results of the study provide a conceptual model showing that early intervention to prevent stress response to pre-operative anxiety and depression decreases the severity of postoperative pain.