Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Prediction of anxiety in children aged 7–12 during preoperative anaesthesia evaluation – a prospective observational study
Authors' conclusion
Clinical anxiety assessments in preoperative consultations are often inaccurate, with parents performing slightly better than anaesthesiologists and children.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged 7–12 years undergoing elective surgery or diagnostic procedures under GA91 datasets analysed
- Exposure
- Anxiety predictions (Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)) by parents, anaesthesiologists and children vs observed anxiety at induction (Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale - Short Form (mYPAS-SF))
- Outcome
- Correlation (Spearman) of predicted with observed anxiety during anaesthesia induction (mYPAS-SF), and predictive performance (AUC) for clinically significant anxiety (mYPAS-SF > 30)
- Follow-up
- Anaesthesia induction
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prediction of children's anxiety during induction
| Group | AUC | Rs |
|---|---|---|
| Parents | 0.661 | 0.327, 95% CI 0.12-0.51 |
| Anaesthesiologists | 0.604 | 0.173, 95% CI −0.04-0.37 |
| Children | 0.612 | 0.147, 95% CI −0.08-0.36 |
AUC
Parents0.661
Anaesthesiologists0.604
Children0.612
Rs
Parents0.327, 95% CI 0.12-0.51
Anaesthesiologists0.173, 95% CI −0.04-0.37
Children0.147, 95% CI −0.08-0.36
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Values | P value |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiety at induction (mYPAS-SF), children reporting worry before anaesthesia vs notSignificantly higher anxiety | Worried 38.5 (range 22.9–57.3) · Not worried 22.9 (range 22.9–38.0) | P = 0.006 |
| Anxiety at induction (mYPAS-SF), intravenous vs inhalational inductionLower anxiety with intravenous induction | Intravenous 22.9 (range 22.9–38.0) · Inhalational 38.5 (range 22.9–57.3) | P < 0.001 |
Children's anxiety at consultation and on ward vs anxiety at induction
- At consultation, rs
- 0.271, 95% CI 0.06-0.46
- On the ward, rs
- 0.297, 95% CI 0.09-0.48
Age, gender, prior medical experiences, parental anxiety
- No significant associations
Original publication
Prediction of anxiety in children aged 7–12 during preoperative anaesthesia evaluation – a prospective observational study. Perioper Med (Lond). Published 12 March 2026. doi:10.
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