The effect of preoperative patient-reported anxiety on morbidity and mortality outcomes in patients undergoing major general surgery

Excessive levels of anxiety may negatively influence treatment outcomes and likely increase patient suffering. We designed a prospective observational study to assess whether preoperative patient-reported anxiety affects major general surgery outcomes. We prospectively administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to measure preoperative anxiety in patients awaiting major general surgical procedures. Patients were grouped by STAI scores according to established cutoffs: no anxiety (STAI