[Anxiety in the postoperative period following cardiac surgery]

Among the patients treated in the Intensive Care Unit at the Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, two sample group studies, one immediately following the other, were carried out. In the first study, the investigative methods used were participants' observations and non-participants' observations. The second study used interviews. Data analysis was based on categorization. The main anxiety-causing factors which stand out are thirst during the first 24 post operative hours and the need to defecate in a bedpan or similar device when this need is not indicated as a procedure to follow during the post operative period. Bear in mind that these definitive results were drawn after carrying out 12 interviews. The low number of interviews does not allow one to draw categorical conclusions but one can consider these as a take off point in further investigations.