Effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions to manage anxiety in adolescents in the perioperative period: a systematic review protocol

OBJECTIVE This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions to manage anxiety in adolescents in the perioperative period. INTRODUCTION Adolescents undergoing surgery suffer considerable levels of anxiety and distress before surgery, which are maintained beyond the procedure. Although the benefit of non-pharmacological interventions in this area is significant, their efficacy is still under-studied. INCLUSION CRITERIA This review will consider studies that focus on adolescents aged 10 to 19 years, who have undergone a surgical procedure. All studies that focus on non-pharmacological interventions occurring in the perioperative period designed to reduce anxiety without restrictions on comparators, geography, or culture will be included. METHODS An initial limited search of PubMed and CINAHL has been undertaken and will be followed by a second search for published and unpublished studies, without limitations of publication date, in major health care-related electronic databases. Studies in English, Spanish, and Portuguese will be included. After full-text studies are retrieved, methodological quality assessment and data extraction will be performed independently by two reviewers. A narrative synthesis will accompany the results and, if possible, a meta-analysis will be performed and a Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Summary of Findings presented. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER PROSPERO CRD42020184386.