Translation and validation of the Amsterdam preoperative anxiety and information scale (APAIS) in Serbia

OBJECTIVES: Preoperative anxiety is common and might affect surgical treatment outcomes. The aim was to translate and validate the Serbian version of the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). METHODS: Following translation and initial evaluation, the Serbian version (S‐APAIS) was administered to 385 patients. Internal consistency, construct validity, prognostic criteria validity, and concurrent validity between S‐APAIS and Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety (VAS‐A) were evaluated. RESULTS: Factor analysis revealed two factors: APAIS‐anesthesia (items 1, 2, 3) and APAIS‐procedure (items 4, 5, 6). The whole scale, APAIS‐anesthesia, and APAIS‐procedure subscales showed an adequate level of internal consistency (Cronbach's αs: 0.787, 0.806, and 0.805, respectively). High concurrent validity was observed between APAIS‐anesthesia and VAS‐A (ρ = 0.628, p < .001). A moderate correlation was found between APAIS‐procedure and VAS‐A scale (ρ = 0.537, p < .001). At the cut‐off point of 9, the area under the curve (AUC) of APAIS‐anesthesia was 0.815 (95% CI: 0.77–0.85, p < .001). For the APAIS‐procedure, AUC was 0.772 (95% CI: 0.73–0.81, p < .001) at the cut‐off point of 8. CONCLUSION: The structure of S‐APAIS substantially differs from the original and allows separate measurement of anesthesia‐ and procedure‐related anxieties. S‐APAIS is a comprehensive, valid, and reliable instrument for the measurement of preoperative anxiety.