ASSESSMENT OF PREOPERATIVE ANXIETY - COMPARISON OF MEASURES IN PATIENTS AWAITING SURGERY FOR BREAST-CANCER

We have compared three measurements of anxiety to determine their equi valence in assessing anxiety before surgery. Forty-four patients await ing breast cancer surgery completed the state scale of the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), the hospital anxiety and depression scale ( HAD) and a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS). Analysis restricted to correlations between the scales gave the misleading impression that VA S scores were inconsistent with those of the HAD and STAI. However, wh en scores were considered in relation to normative cut-off values to c ategorize anxiety levels, the three scales showed good agreement. We c onclude that the scales were equivalent in their assessment of anxiety before surgery, but that reference to normative data was important in establishing such equivalence and in determining the patient's state.