Rashmi Taneja, Ajay Kumar,Suvidha Sood
BACKGROUND
Patients, scheduled for elective surgery are referred from various surgical specialities to anaesthesiologists for evaluation before the surgical procedure. Perception and knowledge of patients regarding pre anaesthesia clinic (PAC) has not been extensively studied. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of patients posted for surgery regarding pre anaesthesia check-ups and to determine the association between educational status and knowledge about pre anaesthesia clinic.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
After obtaining written informed consent, 300 patients of age group 18-70 years were asked to fill in a questionnaire before assessment for anaesthesia. Each question was provided with multiple choice answers and patient was asked to choose the right answer. Settings and Design- This observational study was conducted on 300 patients posted for elective surgery in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Statistical Analysis- Data collected was expressed as frequencies and percentage. One-way ANOVA test was done to find significant association between education status and knowledge regarding PAC (SPSS- 20).
RESULTS
Only 30% of the patient correctly knew the reason for coming to PAC and 18% were aware that main objective of PAC is assessment and optimization before surgery. Although approximately 70% of patients knew that they will be examined by anaesthesiologist and 30% of patients felt that they have come to get the date for surgery.
CONCLUSION
Patients in general do not have adequate knowledge about PAC and good communication by anaesthesiologist and surgeon can result in patient cooperation and thus better outcome.
