COMPARISON OF VIDEO DISTRACTION AND PARENTAL RECORDED VOICE ON PREOPERATIVE ANXIETY IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS UNDERGOING ELECTIVE SURGERY AT MAYO HOSPITAL

Abstract

Background and Objective:Preoperative anxiety is common among children undergoing surgery and may be triggered by separation from parents, fear of pain, and exposure to an unfamiliar operating theatre environment. This study compared observed preoperative anxiety following video distraction versus parental recorded voice among pediatric patients undergoing elective surgery.

Materials and Methods:A randomized controlled trial was conducted among 100 pediatric patients aged 4–10 years who were scheduled for elective surgery. Participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either the video distraction group (n = 50) or the parental recorded voice group (n = 50). Each intervention was administered for 10 minutes in the preoperative area. Anxiety was assessed using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale–Short Form (mYPAS-SF). The four assessed domains were Activity, Vocalization, Emotional Expressivity, and State of Apparent Arousal; the Use of Parents domain was not assessed. The primary outcome was the mYPAS-SF score. Between-group differences in continuous variables were assessed using an independent-samples t-test, while anxiety categories were compared using Pearson's chi-square test. A two-sided p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:Children in the video distraction group had a lower mean mYPAS-SF score than those in the parental recorded voice group (1.68 ± 0.46 vs. 2.23 ± 0.52; mean difference, −0.55; t(98) = −5.58; p < 0.001). The between-group difference corresponded to a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.12). Low anxiety was observed in 36 (72.0%) children in the video distraction group and 16 (32.0%) children in the parental recorded voice group. Moderate anxiety was observed in 13 (26.0%) and 30 (60.0%) children, respectively, whereas high anxiety was observed in 1 (2.0%) and 4 (8.0%) children, respectively. The distribution of anxiety categories differed significantly between the groups (χ²(2) = 16.213, p < 0.001; Cramer's V = 0.403).

Conclusion:Video distraction was associated with lower observed preoperative anxiety than parental recorded voice among children undergoing elective surgery. Its simple, nonpharmacological, and potentially practical nature supports its consideration as an adjunctive approach to pediatric preoperative anxiety management.