Anxiety Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Anxiety, including details on anxiety disorder, panic attacks, medication, counselling, therapy.

Giving toys to children reduces their anxiety about receiving premedication for surgery.

Golden L, Pagala M, Sukhavasi S, Nagpal D, Ahmad A, Mahanta A

Department of Anesthesiology, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA. lganesthesia@yahoo.com

Children have increased anxiety during the preoperative period. The administration of oral premedication to children is often met with apprehension, reluctance, or refusal. We sought to determine whether giving a small toy to the children would decrease the anxiety associated with taking oral premedication. This was a prospective study involving 100 children 3-6 yr of age randomized into two equal groups. The anxiety of each child was assessed using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale. The results showed significantly less anxiety in children who received a toy before oral administration of midazolam.

Published 22 March 2006 in Anesth Analg, 102(4): 1070-2.
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