Giving toys to children reduces their anxiety about receiving premedication for surgery.
Children have increased anxiety during the preoperative period. The administration of oral premedication to children is often met with apprehension, reluctance, or refusal. We sought to determine whether giving a small toy to the children would decrease the anxiety associated with taking oral premedication. This was a prospective study involving 100 children 3-6 yr of age randomized into two equal groups. The anxiety of each child was assessed using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale. The results showed significantly less anxiety in children who received a toy before oral administration of midazolam.
Department of Anesthesiology, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA. lganesthesia@yahoo.com
Leonard
L
Golden
Murali
M
Pagala
Sujatha
S
Sukhavasi
Dheeraj
D
Nagpal
Ayeesha
A
Ahmad
Aruna
A
Mahanta
D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology*; D011229:Preanesthetic Medication / Q000523:psychology*; D011292:Premedication / Q000523:psychology*; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies