Background: Anxiety is a common and unpleasant emotional state that affects many patients while waiting for surgery. Anxiety is described as an undesirable feeling of nervousness caused of a potential threat. It is an uncomfortable state of mind and can elicit physiological responses. Adequate nurse interventions that relieve anxiety improve the patient's condition, which lead to better recovery.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe the preoperative care, that can alleviate the patient's anxiety associated with surgery. Method: The method of study is a literature review of 12 scientific articles, of which 11 quantitative and one qualitative which cover nursing interventions that can alleviate preoperative anxiety. The search took place in the databases PubMed and Cinahl. This study was based on Friberg's model for the literature review.

Results: Result of the study presents three categories that contain different care interventions to alleviate the patient's preoperative anxiety: auditory, physical, and informational. Six care interventions are described in total. Music and aromatherapy proved to be simple and cost-effective care interventions. Acupuncture, hand massage and heating can be considered more expensive in comparison, because they require additional staff training, equipment and require more time. Person-centred information helps the patient to better understand the upcoming operation, which is seen as a way to promote and protect the patient's well-being. Conclusion: Nurses should understand that it is important to reduce preoperative anxiety in patients. It is equally important that nurses can balance patient care needs and appropriate nursing interventions for each patient. Through active listening and attention to non-verbal signals from patients, nurses understand better the patient's needs and can decide which care interventions can reduce anxiety.