Effect of interactive, multimedia-based home-initiated education on preoperative anxiety inchildren and their parents: a single-center randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Anesthesiologists need to appreciate the impact of preoperative anxiety in children. The present study aimed to explore whether interactive multimedia-based home-initiated interventions could effectively relieve preoperative anxiety in pediatric patients. METHODS: In this prospective study, we compared preoperative anxiety between two groups of children aged 4–9 years. Children in the control group received a question-and-answer (Q&A) introduction, and children in the intervention group received multimedia-based home-initiated preoperative education using comic booklets, videos, and coloring game books. Differences in anxiety between the two groups were evaluated by the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale-Short Form (mYPAS-SF) at four time points: in the ophthalmology outpatient clinic before intervention as the baseline (T0); in the preoperative waiting area (T1); at the time of separating from their parents and moving to the operating room (T2); and at the time of anesthesia induction (T3). Parental anxiety was assessed by the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at T0 and T2. Other related information was collected by questionnaire. RESULTS: Eighty-four children who underwent pediatric strabismus in our center between November 2020 and July 2021 were included in this study. An intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis was performed on data from 78 enrolled children. Children in the intervention group exhibited lower m-YPAS-SF scores at T1, T2, and T3 than those in the control group (all p < 0.001). By using a mixed-effect model with repeated measurement (MMRM) after adjusting the m-YPAS score at T0 as a covariate, the interventional effect in terms of themYPAS-SF score was also significant over time (p < 0.001). The percentage of children with perfect induction compliance (ICC = 0) in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group [18.4% vs. 7.5%], and poor induction compliance (ICC>4) was lower (2.6% vs. 17.5%, p = 0.048). The mean parental VAS score at T2 in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group (p = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: Interactive multimedia-based home-initiated intervention could reduce preoperative anxiety in children and improve the quality of anesthesia induction based on ICC scores, which may in turn impose a positive impact on parental anxiety. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12871-023-02055-7.