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.