Effectiveness of Preoperative Tour in Simulation Operating Theater in Reducing Preoperative Anxiety in Children

Effectiveness of Preoperative Tour in Simulation Operating Theater in Reducing Preoperative Anxiety in Children and Their Parents: A Pragmatic, Single-blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial

this study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative tour to simulation operating theater on reducing children's and parents' preoperative anxiety. half of the participant were taken in a tour to a simulation operating theater before the day of operation and the other half were given the standard of care.

the investigators examined the effectiveness of a preoperative tour to a simulation operating theater guided by an expert anesthesia technologist on reducing the Preoperative anxiety levels for children who were scheduled for elective day case procedures under general anesthesia, and their parents' anxiety levels through a 10-months randomized controlled trial at tertiary medical center in Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, and confirmed that children and parents who received the intervention had significantly lower preoperative anxiety levels than controlled children and parents.

Given that, the results showed critical levels of preoperative anxiety among school age children, and that preoperative tour to simulation operating theater as a child-friendly maneuver is directly applicable and could be considered for children scheduled for day-case procedures under general anesthesia.

Inclusion Criteria:

• children who were scheduled for elective day-case procedures under general anesthesia at KFMC.
• class 1 or 2 according to the American society of anesthesiology physical status.

Exclusion Criteria:

• diagnosed as having mental or psychological disorders.