Patients’ understanding of their upcoming anaesthetic after attending pre-operative assessment clinic appointment

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patients attending the Preoperative Assessment Clinic (POAC) should be empowered to make informed clinical decisions. Clear, evidence-based anaesthetic information must be provided in an accessible format before consent is obtained. A telephone questionnaire was conducted to assess patients’ understanding of the information given at POAC regarding their anaesthetic management and associated risks.

METHODS: Following ethical approval, 227 adult POAC patients were consented over four weeks. They were conducted within 48 hours post-appointment and asked simple questions about the discussed anaesthetic modality and its complications.

RESULTS: A total of 203 patients completed the questionnaire. Of these, 122 (60.1%) patients were aware of their planned anaesthetic modality and 125 (60.6%) patients recalled being informed about anaesthetic complications. However, 28 of the latter could not specify any complications. The most remembered complications were nausea and vomiting, death, and non-specific cardiac or respiratory issues. Additionally, 91 (44.8%) patients stated they were not informed about complications related to their comorbidities. 43 patients desired more information, but only 12 had asked the POAC doctor questions.

CONCLUSIONS: Communication of anaesthetic information at POAC requires improvement. Many patients struggle to retain critical details, and barriers might prevent them from asking questions. Addressing these issues could enhance patient understanding and engagement, ultimately improving shared decision-making and perioperative care.