In an earlier report, we emphasized the importance of including fearful subjects in studies testing analgesic and anxiolytic agents. In that study, we concluded that university students are a good source of subjects representing a wide variety of populations, including anxious people. In order to select a study population including anxious patients, researchers should pay [...]

Subjects
The mean age of subjects was 24.2 yr (range 18 to 45 yr), and 52.8% were female. Most subjects were white (84.3%, 75/89); 3.4% were African-American (3/89), 2.3% were Hispanic (2/89), and the remaining nine subjects indicated some other racial background.

Sample
Subjects consisted of 89 people who needed a minimum of two third molars extracted. Subjects were chosen based on a telephone interview and a questionnaire.
The telephone interview was carried out by an experienced psychologist. Recruitment was done by advertising on radio, in local and student newspapers, and on the University of Washington campus.

People vary in their ability to cope with oral surgery. Although a large number of patients request sedation or anxiolytic medication, others are able to tolerate oral surgery without the aid of anxiolytic drugs. Unfortunately, it is the latter type of patient that tends to volunteer for research studies in which the possibility of receiving [...]