Improved Perioperative Risk Education Through the Use of an Interactive Online Anaesthesia Education Tool (iPREDICT):...

Background/Objectives: Involving patients in the preoperative anaesthetic assessment (PAA) process can improve their understanding of risks and contribute to better postoperative recovery and outcomes. The iPREDICT study aims to investigate the feasibility of using an interactive consultation tool (ICT) to improve patient awareness of anaesthesia-related risks. Methods: This prospective, single-centre, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical study included patients scheduled for elective surgery under general or combined general and regional anaesthesia. Participants were randomly assigned to online anaesthesia risk education in the ICT group (intervention) or a control group that watched a video without anaesthetic risk content. Both groups received a face-to-face PAA and were assessed about anaesthetic risk knowledge after PAA and two days later. Results: A total of 373 participants were randomised, and 315 completed the assigned online module prior to their PAA. The proportion of male participants was higher (>60%). Most participants already had prior anaesthesia experience. After PAA, 243 patients completed the first risk recall #1 questionnaire, with the ICT group identifying significantly more correct risks than the control group (median 13.0 vs. 11.0, p < 0.05). In risk recall #2, conducted two days after the PAA, knowledge retention remained stable in the control group, while the experimental group showed further improvement (median 14.0 vs. 13.0, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Using the ICT significantly improved patients' knowledge of anaesthesia-related risks. These results suggest that interactive patient education tools are a feasible and effective way to improve patients' understanding of perioperative anaesthesia risks, potentially contributing to better outcomes, which needs to be addressed in future projects.