The information requested by patients prior to giving consent to anaesthesia

Patients in a teaching hospital in Scotland were given the opportunity to ask for further information relating to their peri-operative anaesthetic management. One investigator visited all of the patients pre-operatively and asked a standard list of anaesthetic-related questions. Our objectives were to determine what additional information patients would request before giving their consent to anaesthesia. The majority of patients (n=469, 67%) had no further questions at a point when so-called consent could have been obtained. Of the questions asked, 209 (66%) were related to anaesthesia and 93 (30%) to the proposed surgery. Only two patients in the group studied requested a full explanation of their peri-operative anaesthetic management. The question most commonly asked related to the duration of surgery, with less priority being given to questions relating to complications of anaesthesia.