The awareness of being observed changes the patient's psychological well-being in anesthesia

Many anesthesiologists realize that patients who perceive themselves to be the target of particular interest and attention change their behavior. This change, a result of the awareness of being under observation, is called th e "Hawthorne effect" (1). Moreover, it was shown more than 30 yr ago that t he meeting between patient and anesthetist and the type of information give n can influence postoperative morbidity (2,3), although contradictory studi es were published later (4-9). The aim of our study was to show the presence of the Hawthorne effect in ro utine anesthesiology practice and to quantify it in terms of psychological well-being (primary endpoint) and other signs and symptoms.