[Effectiveness of pre-operative education in reducing anxiety in surgical patients].

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a structured pre-operative interview conducted by operating room nurses in order to reduce the pre-operative anxiety of patients, and to determine the profile of patients who can benefit from it.

Material And Methods: A randomised double-blind and prospective trial was conducted on a sample of 335 patients scheduled for surgery in two regional hospitals in the Basque Region of Spain, Alto Deba Hospital and Mendaro Hospital. We compared the alternative of using a structured briefing (test group) with the current situation without any formal intervention (control group).