Prioritising mental health in the perioperative period: understanding postoperative patterns in anxiety and depression through ecological momentary assessment

A recent study in the British Journal of Anaesthesia examining trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms diverse surgical procedures sheds light on an often overlooked, yet important, factor in postoperative recoverydmental health. The authors applied ecological momentary assessment to collect high-resolution data to identify and terise a subgroup of vulnerable patients who experience worsening of psychological symptoms after surgery. The prompts not only consideration of psychological factors, but also how best to leverage ecological momentary assessment to understand the perioperative experience.