Awake Craniotomies: the impact of pre-operative anxiety and depression
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of pre-operative anxiety and depression on post-operative pain, quality of life, and PTSD symptoms following an Awake Craniotomy
IRAS ID
336907
Contact name
Iram Munir
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Staffordshire University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Awake craniotomies allow surgeons to remove growths whilst preserving critical brain functions, resulting in fewer complications and a higher quality of life. However, despite its success, people can experience significant anxiety before surgery (Perks et al., 2009). Pre-operative anxiety can result in people reporting higher pain during and after surgery (Moss et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2021). Furthermore, research also suggests that awake surgeries can result in repetitive stressful memories, and some patients may develop PTSD. However, there is a lack of research looking specifically at awake craniotomies. In addition, many studies only examine short-term outcomes a couple weeks after the surgery and fail to explore the long-term impact of surgery.
As such, the current study aims to explore the impact of pre-operative anxiety and depression on post-operative pain, quality of life, and the presence of PTSD-related symptoms. Importantly, the current study will include data from one-month, six-month, and 12-month follow-up appointments as well. In addition, patients’ own perception of their memory, cognition, mood, and language after surgery and how these are related to pre-operative anxiety and depression will be explored.
The study will use both retrospective data and prospective data from patients who have had an awake craniotomy with the Neuropsychology Team at North Staffordshire Combined NHS Trust from 2018 to 2024 and Spring 2024 onwards. The data will be collected in the form of questionnaires administered at various time points (i.e., pre-operative, intra-operative etc.).
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/1013
Date of REC Opinion
4 Mar 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion