A survey on postanesthetic patient satisfaction in a university hospital

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patient satisfaction after anesthesia is an important outcome of hospital care. The aim is to evaluate the postoperative patient satisfaction during the patient stay at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred and fifty-three patients who underwent surgery under general/regional anesthesia were surveyed. They were interviewed face to face on the first postoperative day. We recorded pain and pain controls in addition to some common complication of anesthesia like nausea and vomiting (postoperative nausea and vomiting) as a parameter to assess the rate of patient's satisfaction. RESULTS: The overall level of satisfaction was high (95.2%); 17 (4.8%) patients were dissatisfied with their anesthetic care. There was a strong relation between patient dissatisfaction and: (i) Patients with poor postoperative pain control 13 (12.4%), (ii) patients with moderate nausea 8 (11.1%) and (iii) patients with static and dynamic severe pain 6 (21.4). Several factors were associated with dissatisfaction can be prevented, or better treated. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the patient satisfaction was high. Postoperative visit should be routinely performed in order to assess the quality and severity of postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting and the other side-effects postoperatively.