The Use of a Video to Convey Preanesthetic Information to Patients Undergoing Ambulatory Surgery

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Abstract
In a prospective, randomized, single-blind trial, we assessed the effectiveness of a preoperative video as a source of additional patient information before ambulatory surgery. One hundred twenty-seven patients were allocated to either treatment (video) or control (nonvideo) groups. Of the 127, 17 (13%) patients correctly answered all process, risk, and misconception statements using a questionnaire. Overall, the video group was 2-16 times more likely to recall all knowledge questions correctly than the non-video group after adjusting for previous general anesthesia experience, state (how one feels at the moment), and trait (how one generally feels) anxiety levels (relative risk 6.36, 95% confidence interval 2.01-15.82). The predictors of correct risk knowledge were those who had a video intervention (relative risk 7.12, 95% confidence interval 3.70 to 10.07) and low trait anxiety scores (relative risk 5.88, 95% confidence interval 1.69 to 25.00). A video could be an important additional component of the preoperative interview, but anesthesiologists will still need to provide patient-specific information. Implications: This study randomly allocated adults to see a video about anesthesia before scheduled ambulatory surgery. The video group had better recall of information. The video was a useful adjunct to routine preoperative consultations. (Anesth Analg 1998;87:531-6)