Anxiety contributes to increasing the degree of dependence on nursing care in the immediate post-operative of bariatric surgery

Abstract

Objective: to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in patients in the immediate postoperative period of bariatric surgery, their relationship
with sociodemographic and clinical data, as well as their implications on the degree of dependence on nursing care. Methodology: analytical, cross-sectional study; for data
collection, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Fugulin Classification Instrument were used. Data were expressed by frequencies, means and standard deviations; comparisons made by chi-square test or Fisher's exact test or the maximum likelihood ratio; for data crossings, the t test, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallise Mann-Whitney were adopted, differences accepted when p≤0.05. Results: the sample was made up of 49 patients predominantly female (89.8%), aged between 30 and 39 years (46.9%), grade III obesity (71.4%) and with comorbidities (93.9%). It was identified that 42.9% had symptoms of anxiety of which 38.1% had mild symptoms, 52.4% moderate and 9.5% severe. Still, 28.6% of the patients manifested symptoms of depression, of which 78.6% were mild, 14.3% moderate and 7.1% severe. In the group of patients “with symptoms of anxiety” the percentage was statistically higher for individuals who demand high dependency / intensive care (52.4%)
than in the group “without symptoms of anxiety” (21.4%). Conclusion: this study shows a relevant prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in the immediate postoperative period of bariatric surgery and that patients with anxiety depend on more complex nursing care, intervening directly in the care and managerial work of nurses.