Visual guidelines and tutoring in pediatric urological surgery.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Urology
• Parental Anxiety Management

Background:

• Parental stress and anxiety are significant concerns in pediatric urological surgery.
• Effective preoperative counseling is crucial for managing parental expectations and reducing distress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of visual guidelines (picture book) and tutoring on parental stress, anxiety, and postoperative outcomes in pediatric urological surgery.
• To determine if visual aids enhance preoperative counseling effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• Prospective randomized study involving 64 parents undergoing pediatric urological surgery.
• Group 1 received routine instructions plus a visual aid picture book; Group 2 received routine instructions only.
• Parental anxiety was measured using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale; postoperative calls, ER visits, and complications were recorded.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in perioperative parental anxiety was observed between groups (p=0.88).
• The visual tutoring group showed a significantly lower rate of emergency room admissions (6.6% vs. 18.6%, p=0.0433).
• Parents in the visual tutoring group made more postoperative calls (9.9% vs. 3.1%), with similar overall complication rates and satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Visual tutoring does not significantly reduce parental anxiety but may help decrease postoperative emergency room visits.
• A subset of parents expressed a preference against including visual information in future preoperative counseling.