Educating patients after conscious sedation for gastrointestinal procedures

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Patient Education
• Medical Compliance

Background:

• Conscious sedation for gastrointestinal (GI) procedures causes amnesia, leading to poor recall of postprocedure instructions.
• A significant risk after GI procedures is bleeding, exacerbated by patients taking aspirin or NSAIDs.
• Previous studies show 73% of patients forget postprocedure instructions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if wrist bands improve patient adherence to reading postprocedure instructions.
• To identify patient demographics associated with failure to read postprocedure instructions.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 61 GI clinic outpatients at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
• Participants received written instructions and were assigned to a control group (standard care + phone call) or intervention group (wrist band + standard care + phone call).
• A memory test assessed recall of procedure results, follow-up dates, and medications.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in memory test scores between the wrist band and control groups (t = 0.9, p = .36).
• Patients aged 65 and older showed memory deficits, irrespective of the wrist band intervention (r = 0.19, p = .06).
• The wrist band was ineffective; the next-day phone call was the primary reminder.

Conclusions:

• Wrist bands are not effective in improving patient recall of postprocedure instructions after GI diagnostic procedures.
• Next-day phone calls are a more effective method for reinforcing postprocedure instructions.
• Older patients (≥65 years) may require additional memory support strategies.