Parental Accompaniment in Operating Rooms Reduces Child Anxiety

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Anesthesiology
• Child Psychology

Background:

• Preoperative anxiety is a significant concern for children undergoing surgery, particularly those with cleft palate/lip.
• Parental presence during anesthesia induction is hypothesized to mitigate this anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of parental presence on preoperative anxiety in pediatric patients with cleft palate/lip.
• To assess the perceptions of both patients and parents regarding parental accompaniment in the operating room.

Main Methods:

• Nursing observations were conducted as patients and parents entered the operating room.
• Anonymous questionnaires were administered post-operation to gather patient and parent feedback on the experience.

Main Results:

• Nine patients cried upon entering the surgical room, indicating distress.
• Preoperative anxiety was reported by six patients and three parents.
• Eight patients expressed satisfaction with their parents' presence before anesthesia induction.

Conclusions:

• While some distress was observed, parental presence before anesthesia induction proved effective in reducing anxiety for the majority of pediatric patients with cleft palate/lip.
• The study supports the integration of parental presence as a strategy to improve the perioperative experience for these children.