Evolving with modern technology: Impact of incorporating audiovisual aids in preanesthetic checkup clinics on patient education and anxiety

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Perioperative stress is an often ignored commonly occurring phenomenon. Little or no prior knowledge of anesthesia techniques can increase this significantly. Patients awaiting surgery may experience high level of anxiety. Preoperative visit is an ideal time to educate patients about anesthesia and address these fears. The present study evaluates two different approaches, i.e., standard interview versus informative audiovisual presentation with standard interview on information gain (IG) and its impact on patient anxiety during preoperative visit. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This prospective, double-blind, randomized study was conducted in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in rural India over 2 months. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective, double-blind, randomized study was carried out among 200 American Society of Anesthesiologist Grade I and II patients in the age group 18–65 years scheduled to undergo elective surgery under general anesthesia. Patients were allocated to either one of the two equal-sized groups, Group A and Group B. Baseline anxiety and information desire component was assessed using Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale for both the groups. Group A patients received preanesthetic interview with the anesthesiologist and were reassessed. Group B patients were shown a short audiovisual presentation about operation theater and anesthesia procedure followed by preanesthetic interview and were also reassessed. In addition, patient satisfaction score (PSS) and IG was assessed at the end of preanesthetic visit using standard questionnaire. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were expressed as mean and standard deviation. Nonparametric tests such as Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests, and Student's t-test and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Patient's IG was significantly more in Group B (5.43 ± 0.55) as compared to Group A (4.41 ± 0.922) (P < 0.001). There was significant reduction in total anxiety from the baseline values in both the groups. This reduction was significantly more in Group B (8.47 ± 1.861) as compared to Group A (9.29 ± 1.616) (P < 0.001). PSS was also more in Group B (29.27 ± 2.378) as compared to Group A (25.62 ± 1.745) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Audiovisual presentation provides unhurried, detailed, and reliable information about the perioperative environment and anesthesia procedure. This helps in significant IG and reduction of patient anxiety.