Introduction
anxiety
ADVERSE EVENTS, SECONDARY
Preoperative anxiety is common and remains an important problem for individuals scheduled for major surgeryPremedication with benzodiazepines has been in used for decades to ease anxiety and promote sleep in patients scheduled for surgeryPregabalin (S-[+]-3-isobutylgaba) is a lipophilic GABA analogPregabalin is also used as a sleep-modulating drugGiven these considerations, the primary aim of this double-blind randomized controlled trial was to compare the anxiolytic effects of premedication with pregabalin, diazepam or placebo in patients scheduled for elective surgery. We hypothesized that patients randomly assigned to receive either pregabalin and diazepam would endorse lower levels of anxiety post-treatment than patients assigned to placebo, but that patients assigned to receive pregabalin and diazepam would not evidence significantly different levels of post-treatment anxiety. The secondary aims were to compare the 3 treatment conditions to each other with respect to sleep quality, overall sedation and rates of adverse events.