Pre-transurethral prostate resection anxiety on postoperative pain and sleep quality: A correlational study

Abstract

Does pre-transurethral prostate resection (TURP) anxiety have any effect on postoperative pain and sleep quality? This descriptive, cross-sectional study was planned to determine the effect of pre-TURP anxiety on postoperative pain and sleep quality in adult male inpatients scheduled for TURP surgery in a urology clinic. Studies investigating the relationship between preoperative anxiety and TURP have reported side-effect-related quality of sleep impairment and higher pain levels in patients. The study was completely conducted from June to December 2018. Eighty-five participants meeting the inclusion criteria were involved. Informed consent was provided before the study outset. A patient identification form, the Surgery-Specific Anxiety Scale (SSAS), a numerical pain scale (Visual Analog Scale, VAS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were employed. Descriptive statistical methods and parametric tests were used with NCSS 2007 software for data analysis. Significance was set at P < .05. The mean age of the patients undergoing TURP was 70.79 +/- 7.40 years, the mean SSAS score was 19.79 +/- 3.72, the mean postoperative VAS score was 4.65 +/- 1.91 and the mean PSQI score was 6.75 +/- 3.21. A statistically significant positive correlation was determined between total SSAS scores and post-operative VAS scores (P < .01). Poor sleep quality was present in 71.8% of individuals (n = 61), but there was no significant association between preoperative anxiety and sleep quality (P > .05). Preoperative anxiety levels in patients undergoing TURP surgery positively affected pain during the post-operative period but had no effect on sleep quality. The limitations of the present study include the time restriction in the sample selection, and the fact that the results are specific to the group involved in the research. Another limitation was the research design that obviated any conclusion being drawn concerning the cause and effect relationship between anxiety and pain and sleep quality. The effect of preventing anxiety before surgery on pain and sleep quality can be investigated in future studies.