ArticleWorld journal of surgical oncology2020
Salivary cortisol levels and anxiety in melanoma patients undergoing sentinel lymph node excision under local anesthesia versus general anesthesia: a prospective study.
Article in World journal of surgical oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of different dental local anesthesia techniques on salivary cortisol and secretory immunoglobulin a in pediatric patients: a randomized controlled clinical study.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Trial
- Perioperative Anxiety in Adults: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology, Assessment, and Multimodal Management Strategies.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Burden of Preoperative Stress: Biological Mechanisms and Postoperative Outcomes.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- The cortisol axis and psychiatric disorders: an updated review.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2025Review
- Influence of nerve block combined with general anesthesia on cognitive function and postoperative pain in patients undergoing knee joint replacement.American journal of translational research · 2022Article
- Observational
- Pain during cardiac implantable electronic device implantation.The British journal of cardiology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSentinel lymph node excision (SLNE) can be performed in tumescent local anesthesia (TLA) or general anesthesia (GA). Perioperative cortisol level changes and anxiety are common in surgical interventions and might be influenced by the type of anesthesia. In this study, we intended to determine whether the type of anesthesia impacts the patients' perioperative levels of salivary cortisol (primary outcome) and the feeling of anxiety evaluated by psychological questionnaires (secondary outcome).
methodsAll melanoma patients of age undergoing SLNE at the University Hospital Essen, Germany, could be included in the study. Exclusion criteria were patients' intake of glucocorticoids or psychotropic medication during the former 6 months, pregnancy, age under 18 years, and BMI ≥ 30 as salivary cortisol levels were reported to be significantly impacted by obesity and might confound results.
resultsIn total, 111 melanoma patients undergoing SLNE were included in our prospective study between May 2011 and April 2017 and could choose between TLA or GA. Salivary cortisol levels were measured three times intraoperatively, twice on the third and second preoperative day and twice on the second postoperative day. To assess anxiety, patients completed questionnaires (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)) perioperatively. Patients of both groups exhibited comparable baseline levels of cortisol and perioperative anxiety levels. Independent of the type of anesthesia, all patients showed significantly increasing salivary cortisol level from baseline to 30 min before surgery (T3) (TLA: t = 5.07, p < 0.001; GA: t = 3.09, p = 0.006). Post hoc independent t tests showed that the TLA group exhibited significantly higher cortisol concentrations at the beginning of surgery (T4; t = 3.29, p = 0.002) as well as 20 min after incision (T5; t = 277, p = 0.008) compared to the GA group.
conclusionsThe type of anesthesia chosen for SLNE surgery significantly affects intraoperative cortisol levels in melanoma patients. Further studies are mandatory to evaluate the relevance of endogenous perioperative cortisol levels on the postoperative clinical course.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register DRKS00003076, registered 1 May 2011.
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