Validation of a visual analogue scale for the evaluation of the postoperative anxiety: A prospective observational study.
François Labaste, Fabrice Ferré, Hélène Combelles and 5 others
PMID 31660159WHAT IT FOUND
The 100 mm anxiety line scale tracked a standard questionnaire and detected postoperative anxiety at a score above 34.
It is quicker than a 20 question tool, but it was not perfect.
Key findings
01A VAS-A threshold of 34 was the best for detecting anxiety in the PACU.
02The VAS-A separated anxious from non-anxious patients better than the pain VAS and NRS.
03Female sex and a pain VAS above 62 were associated with anxiety on admission; a pain VAS above 30, emergency surgery and benzodiazepines in PM were associated on discharge.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was single centre, so the result may not transfer to other hospitals. The paper reports 500 included patients and 66 unable to be included, but does not clearly give the final analysed number. The STAI cut-off of 40 used to define anxiety is described as debatable. The order of scale administration was not randomised, and the STAI was read out by the examiner rather than self-completed. PCP remained below 50%, so a high VAS-A score does not reliably confirm anxiety. The VAS-A showed only moderate to good reproducibility against the STAI.
Declared interests
Funding came solely from institutional and department sources, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read a VAS-A score above 34 as proof of anxiety. The paper reports PCP below 50%, and the validation was single centre.