A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy of a Pre-operative Virtual Operation Theatre Tour on Anxiety and Patient Satisfaction in Adults Undergoing Elective Surgery

Background: The study objective involves the evaluation of preoperative audiovisual information on the operation theater environment as a tool to relieve anxiety in patients posted for infra umbilical elective surgery under spinal anesthesia. Perioperative anxiety is detrimental to both intraoperative hemodynamic instability and postoperative recovery. Material and methods: The design was a single-center, prospective, randomized control trial. There were 120 patients in this study within the 18-60-year-old age range who were American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) class I-II admitted for infra-umbilical surgery excluding lower segment cesarean section (LSCS) under spinal anesthesia. Patients were randomized into two groups: those who were not exposed to an audiovisual tour (NA) (n = 60) and those who were exposed to an audiovisual tour (A) (n = 60). The measurements are based on the demographic details of the patient; the visual analogue score (VAS); and the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) for anxiety, hemodynamic parameters i.e., blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and patient satisfaction score (PSS) on a five-point Likert scale were noted perioperatively for both the groups. Results: The main results showed a significant (p-value <0.05) decrease in VAS and APAIS for anxiety, HR, and PSS. This was observed during the intraoperative and postoperative periods in the A group in comparison to the NA group. Conclusion: The preoperative audiovisual virtual tour of the operation theater effectively reduces perioperative anxiety and stabilizes HR; it also improves the satisfaction of patients undergoing elective surgery under spinal anesthesia.