Anxiety in cataract surgery: pilot study

Abstract

Purpose: To quantify the anxiety provoked by cataract surgery and establish whether the preoperative stage, the day of surgery, or the outcome was associated with unduly high anxiety.

Setting: Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of adult patients having cataract surgery under local anesthesia was done. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale and a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were used to quantify the patients' anxiety. Of the 108 patients enrolled, 38 were surveyed at the preassessment clinic, 36 at the day ward (operation day), and 34 at the postoperative clinic. For each stage, the patients were divided into groups: first-eye cataract surgery, second-eye cataract surgery, and combined (first- and second-surgery patients).

Results: The average patient in the combined group found the preassessment stage to be more anxiety provoking than the operation day or the postoperative visit. The median HAD scale scores were 5, 4, and 2, respectively, and the median VAS anxiety scores, 4, 2, and 1.75. The HAD anxiety scores in the combined group were significantly different between the operation day and the postoperative visit (P <.05, Mann-Whitney U) but not between the preassessment and operation day. The VAS scores showed no significant differences among the 3 stages of treatment in the combined group. Different anxiety trends were found between the first- and second-surgery groups.

Conclusion: The average patient was not unduly anxious about cataract surgery.