Effect of Multimedia Information on Preoperative Anxiety Levels of Patients Posted for Surgery under Subarachnoid Block

Abstract

Introduction: Preoperative anxiety is associated with problems such as difficult venous access, jaw relaxation and coughing during induction of anaesthesia, autonomic fluctuations and increased anaesthesia requirements. It has also been correlated with increased pain, nausea and vomiting in the postoperative period, prolonged recovery and increased risk of infection. Most patients experience preoperative anxiety which is a major concern before surgery and it has been suggested that the reduction in preoperative anxiety levels might be associated with better surgical outcomes, shorten hospital stay and minimise lifestyle disruptions. Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess the pre and post procedure anxiety level of the patient undergoing surgery under spinal anaesthesia, after being shown a video of how the procedure is performed and to assess the ease of the anaesthesiologist performing the Subarachnoid Block (SAB). Materials and Methods: The present study included 100 patients divided in two groups. One group who had a face-toface interview with the anaesthesiologist and the other group were shown a audio-visual video of the procedure, posted for elective surgery under SAB. The anxiety levels of the patients was evaluated using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire and the satisfaction level of the anaesthesiologist using Likert’s scale. The postoperative anxiety values were assessed when the patients were shifted to recovery room. The statistical tests used were Student’s t-test for continuous data, chi-square test for categorical variables. One-way repeated ANOVA to analyse the significance. Results: The VAS scores in between Group 1 and Group 2 showed that the pre-intervention, pre-procedure and postprocedure were statistically not significant. The pre-intervention VAS score was 3.23±0.92 in Group 1 and 2.78±0.82 in Group 2 (p-value=0.4), the pre-procedure VAS score was 3.04±0.84 in Group 1 and 2.67±0.76 in Group 2 (p-value=0.6), the postprocedure VAS score was 3.84±0.96 in Group 1 and 2.88±0.9 in Group 2 (p-value=0.5). The state anxiety between the preintervention, pre-procedure and post-procedure in Group 1 and Group 2 the data was statistically significant (p=0.01 and p=0.02). The trait anxiety between pre-intervention, pre-procedure and post-procedure in Group 1 and Group 2 showed that the data was statistically significant (p=0.03 and p=0.01) respectively. The Likert’s score which was assessed by the anaesthesiologist performing the block, there was statistically highly significant difference present between the groups (p=0.00). Conclusion: Educating the patient is important for helping in reducing the fear and anxiety of patient, face-to-face interview is a good way of providing information to the patient but multimedia information is better as patients are more receptive to audio-visual information.

Keywords

• likert’s scale
• preanaesthetic interview
• stai questionnaire