Reducing Preoperative Anxiety through Meditation

Preoperative anxiety is associated with a longer length of stay, more opioid use, and less patient satisfaction. Higher levels of pre-operative anxiety have been found to be a predictor of severe postoperative pain and chronic pain after surgery, influencing the successes and quality of a patient’s recovery. Managing anxiety could reduce the negative outcomes that accompany orthopedic surgery. A non-pharmacological intervention to lessen preoperative anxiety of patients in surgical settings fits into the workflow and has the potential to be a scalable, low-cost intervention.