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What do patients with cerebral aneurysms know about their condition?
Joseph T King1, Michael B Horowitz, David J Bissonette
1Section of Neurosurgery, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut 06516, USA. Joseph.KingJr@va.gov
Neurosurgery
|April 28, 2006
Summary
Patients with cerebral aneurysms often misunderstand critical details about their condition, particularly regarding unsecured aneurysms. Improving patient comprehension of aneurysm status is vital for informed treatment decisions and reducing health risks.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Patient Education
- Medical Information Comprehension
Background:
- Patients with cerebral aneurysms face complex medical information during diagnosis and treatment.
- Understanding patient knowledge is crucial for effective healthcare management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare patient knowledge of their cerebral aneurysm medical history against documented medical records.
- To identify discrepancies in patient understanding of their condition.
Main Methods:
- Interviewed 178 neurosurgery outpatients with cerebral aneurysms about their medical history.
- Assessed patient recall of subarachnoid hemorrhage, aneurysm count, treatments, and outcomes.
- Compared patient responses with data abstracted from medical records using kappa scores.
Main Results:
- High agreement between patients and records for subarachnoid hemorrhage history (kappa=0.81) and prior treatment (kappa=0.82).
- Moderate agreement for the number of aneurysms (kappa=0.57).
- Significant patient unawareness (33%) regarding the presence of unsecured aneurysms.
Conclusions:
- Most patients accurately recall aspects of their aneurysm history, except for the presence of unsecured aneurysms.
- Lack of awareness about unsecured aneurysms is a significant concern, impacting treatment decisions and future risks.
- Enhanced patient education is needed, especially regarding unsecured aneurysm status.