Main concerns of patients regarding the most common complications in the post-anesthetic care unit

'Minor' events have a fundamental role in the determination of the quality of the Anesthesiology service. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the main concerns of patients regarding the post-anesthetic period and to test the hypothesis that the most undesirable effects can be influenced by demographic characteristics.

Four hundred and forty patients answered a questionnaire immediately before the pre-anesthetic evaluation. Possible undesirable effects in the immediate postoperative period, based on data gathered in the literature considering the criterion of frequency but not severity were listed. Demographic data and the nine more frequent occupations were evaluated. The information gathered from the analysis of the questionnaires was related with anthropometric, socioeconomic, and educational data of the patients to assess their influence on the answer profile.

Among the undesirable effects, the fear of being intubated upon waking up was mentioned more often as the most important factor, followed by 'severe pain at the surgery site'. Analysis of the three most frequent undesirable effects according to the demographic data did not show significant statistical differences, except for 'pain at the surgery site' (which was less common among male patients).

The main post-anesthetic concerns of patients included: waking up with a tube in the throat, severe pain at the surgery site, and remembering being conscious during the surgery. Age, schooling, and family income did not determine differences in the concerns of patients.