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ANESTHETIC PHARMACOLOGY

Melatonin Does Not Reduce Anxiety More than Placebo in the Elderly Undergoing Surgery

Maurizia Capuzzo, MD^*, Barbara Zanardi, MD^*, Elisa Schiffino, MD^*, Cosimetta Buccoliero, MD^*, Daniela Gragnaniello, MD, Stefano Bianchi, PhD, and Raffaele Alvisi, MD^*

From the *Department of Surgical, Anesthetic and Radiological Sciences. Section of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Department of Neurosciences, Section of Neurology, and Department of Pharmacy, University Hospital of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Maurizia Capuzzo, MD, Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, Anestesiologiche e Radiologiche Sezione di Anestesia e Rianimazione Azienda Ospedaliera S. Anna Corso Giovecca 203, 44100 Ferrara, Italy. Address e-mail to cpm{at}unife.it.

Melatonin has been reported to reduce preoperative anxiety. We performed this study to compare preoperative anxiety in elderly patients receiving melatonin (M) or placebo (P). Anxiety was measured in patients aged >65 yr by a numerical rating scale (range, 0–10). Each patient was randomized to receive M 10 mg or P orally: 71 patients were in group P and 67 in group M. The median (quartiles) anxiety level was 5 (2–8) before and 3 (1–7) 90 min after premedication in group M and 5 (3–6) and 3 (1–5) in group P, respectively. M and P reduce anxiety in elderly patients to a similar degree.

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