The Chemical Control of Preoperative Anxiety

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Abstract
The effect of a psychoactive chemical. diazepam, on reducing physiologically disruptive anxiety in young female patients about to undergo operation was investigated. In a double‐blind study preoperative anxiety was measured by the Skin Conductance Anxiety Test (SCAT) after patients had been given either intravenous diazepam or placebo. It Was found that diazepam reduced the SCAT scores of the more anxious patients to the level of the scores of the less anxious ones, while the latter's scores were not significantly changed. The validity of the SCAT as an objective measure of anxiety was again confirmed and it was concluded that not only did diazepam differentially reduce anxiety levels in accordance with the degree of anxiety present, but that it also reduced to normal levels the excessive amount of thiopental sodium needed fort the induction of anxious patient.