Clinical repercussions of anxiety in the pre and postoperative periods: integrative literature review

Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety is an emotional experience experienced by most individuals, it is a normal characteristic of the life of the human being, perceived by consciousness and evidenced by subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, nervousness and concern. The surgical procedure is perceived by the patient as an external threat and as such preoperative anxiety is an emotion commonly experienced by most patients who will undergo surgery. Anxiety in this period can cause physiological responses such as aquicardia, hypertension, high temperature, sweating, nausea, besides causing peripheral vasoconstriction. Objective: to synthesize the results obtained in research on the clinical repercussions of anxiety presented by patients in the pre and postoperative periods. Method: Integrative review of the literature, considering publications from the period 2012-2021, elaborated in six stages. Lilacs, BDENF and MEDLINE databases were used as sources of information. The controlled descriptors "anxiety", "preoperative period", "surgery" and "hospital" were used in the Portuguese, English and Spanish languages. Conclusion: we showed that the high levels of anxiety in the preoperative period are responsible for several important clinical repercussions both during surgery and in the postoperative period hospitalized in surgical clinic wards.