[Informed consent for anaesthesia: Presential or non-presential information?]

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Patient Communication
• Informed Consent

Background:

• Anaesthesia informed consent (AIC) is a crucial communication process for patient decision-making.
• Traditionally, AIC is provided during face-to-face pre-operative visits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient perceptions of AIC delivered via telephone versus face-to-face.
• To evaluate understanding, autonomy, and satisfaction with different AIC delivery methods.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving adult patients undergoing ambulatory surgery.
• Patients were assigned to receive AIC information by telephone (experimental) or in person (control).
• Patient perceptions were assessed via questionnaire 15 days post-surgery.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in understanding anaesthetic techniques (71% vs. 81%) or risks (67% vs. 69%) between groups.
• A statistically significant difference was observed in perceived autonomy (56% vs. 74%, P=.036).
• Patient satisfaction rates were identical (46%) in both the telephone and face-to-face groups.

Conclusions:

• Telephone and face-to-face delivery of AIC yield comparable patient understanding and satisfaction.
• A notable proportion of patients in both groups did not recall being offered opportunities to clarify doubts.
• Further research may explore optimizing communication strategies for AIC to enhance patient autonomy.