The Effect of Child Preference for Parental Selection on Pediatric Anxiety During Induction in Children Undergoing Elective Day Case Surgery

The aim of the study was to determine if children were given the right to prefer one parent to accompany them during the perioperative period would impact their anxiety levels. Prospective observational cohort study. The study included 80 children of both genders, aged 4 to 12 years, who underwent day-case surgeries in the Ear Nose and Throat Clinic of Karaman Training and Research Hospital. The patients were separated randomly into two groups of 40. In Group 1, children were asked which of their parents would accompany them during general anesthesia induction, and in Group 2, the child’ preference was not asked, and "accompanying parent" was randomly selected by the physician. The anxiety level of the children was evaluated with the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) both in the preoperative waiting area and during the anesthesia induction. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to determine the anxiety level of their parents. The mean mYPAS score during the induction of anesthesia of Group 1 was significantly lower than that of Group 2 (38.1 vs 45.2; P = .034). There was no difference between the two groups in the mean mYPAS scores evaluated in the preoperative waiting area (38.0 vs 39.1; P = .761). The mean anxiety scores of the parents evaluated using the STAI were similar in both groups, with higher scores between mothers compared to fathers at all measurement times. No difference was determined between the two groups regarding the mean mYPAS scores according to the gender of the child during the perioperative period (P > .05). There was a significant decrease in the mean STAI scores in the preoperative waiting area with an increase in parent’s education level (P = .011), but the educational level had no effect on the scores during the induction of anesthesia. Significantly lower anxiety scores were recorded during the induction of anesthesia for the children who had a chance to select their accompanying parent before surgery. Thus, the overall interaction between the child and the parent before the perioperative period may be accepted as an important factor for the reduction of anxiety during anesthesia induction.