Materials and Methods
This is a survey study which was conducted at urology clinic of our hospital between March 1 and June 1, 2020. A total of 39 patients diagnosed with PCa and scheduled for RALRP in this period, whose operations were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were identified. Twenty-four male patients who approved to answer the questionnaires (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI] I and II and Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]) were included in the study. This study was approved by our institute’s local ethic committee (Approval number: E1-20-1016) and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent forms were obtained from all patients.
In our hospital, we use D’Amico classification to determine risk group for PCa. According to the D’Amico classification, patients with PSA value less than 10 ng/mL, Gleason scores of 6, and stage cT1–T2a were evaluated to be in the low-risk group; patients with a PSA values ranging between 10–20 ng/mL, Gleason scores of 7, and stage cT2b were evaluated to be in the medium-risk group; and patients with a PSA values exceeding 20 ng/mL, Gleason scores of 8 and above, and stage cT2c and above were evaluated to be in the high-risk group.5While patients from the high-risk group were operated upon, the operations of the patients in the low-to-medium risk groups were postponed.
The patients were subjected to the STAI-I and II to assess their state and trait anxiety together with the BDI to assess their state of depression. The STAI is one of the most commonly used anxiety measurement methods for psychological research. Although numerous methods are available to assess anxiety, STAI is considered as the standard method. STAI-I status assesses a person’s instantaneous anxiety level and STAI-II persistency evaluates the person’s overall anxiety level. STAI includes two separate scales, comprising a total of 40 questions. A positive correlation exists between the score level and anxiety level. The lowest and highest scores on the scale are 19 and 80, respectively.6 The Beck Depression Inventory is used to measure the level of depression in the participants. This scale comprises 21 questions to be answered on the basis of the preceding week. Each question includes 4 options as an answer and the options are listed such that they express depression with increasing severity. In the score obtained on the scale, 0–9 points signify minimal depression, 10–16 points signify mild depression, 17–29 points signify moderate depression, and 30–63 points signify severe depression. 7 These questionnaires have validated Turkish versions, which were performed by the psychiatric societies of our country.
Demographical and clinical data (age, time since diagnosis, total serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, risk groups according to the D’Amico classification system, smoking, alcohol habitus, major surgical history, and comorbidities) of the patients were collected from hospital software.
In this study, STAI I–II and BDI questionnaires were given to all patients and the patients were asked to choose the most appropriate answer for themselves. The results were saved in the data pool. None of the authors received any type of financial or nonfinancial support that could be considered a potential conflict of interest regarding the manuscript or its submission.