Child drawings and salivary cortisol in children undergoing preoperative procedures associated with day surgery

• BackgroundPerioperative procedures in children can impair their emotional status negatively with stress and/or anxiety. Cortisol concentrations and drawings could be helpful in gaining information about a child's levels of stress and/or anxiety when attending the hospital for surgery.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the degree of anxiety and stress as well as to explore the association between objective measures of stress (cortisol concentration in saliva) and subjective assessment of hospital anxiety (children's drawings) as interpreted by the Swedish version of the Child Drawing: Hospital manual.MethodsA total of 93 children scheduled for day surgery were included. Salivary cortisol was sampled preoperatively on the day of surgery at which time the children were also requested to make a drawing of a person at the hospital.ResultsResults showed no association between salivary cortisol concentration and the CD:H score.ConclusionThe drawings and salivary cortisol concentration preoperatively on the day of surgery reflect different components of the conditions of fear, anxiety, or stress emerging in the situation.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Pediatrik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Pediatrics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

anxiety

Child Drawing: Hospital manual

cortisol

day surgery

preoperative stress

Medical sciences

Medicin

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)