Pre-operative anxiety and breast biopsy: A systematic review of empirical studies

Different studies do not provide clear evidence with respect to the variables that are able to influence pre-operative anxiety level in women undergoing breast biopsy. The purpose of this review was to systematically identify variables related with pre-operative anxiety level in breast biopsy context. A PRISMA-guided systematic review was run from July 2015 to September 2016, with a final sample of 9 empirical studies published between 1996 and 2015. Results highlighted that pre-operative anxiety is connected with specific psychosocial variables. The factors that were found to influence breast biopsy related anxiety levels seems to be the levels of Trait-Anxiety in the patients, the presence of Chronic Life Stress, the Worry and Uncertainty about the Result, the Waiting Time, the quality of the communication with the staff members, and the quality of the Support provided by the operators. Many of these variables could be taken as target dimensions for psychological interventions aiming to limit anxiety in women undergoing breast biopsy.