What Do Patients Know About Anesthesia and Anesthesiologists?

Background/Objectives: Nowadays, the importance of educating and ensuring communication with patients is also emphasized in groups of patients undergoing anesthesia. The safety and quality of services provided to this group of patients may be related to the information received by them. Therefore, the aim of this review is to explore the patients' knowledge observed globally and discuss the potential influencing factors. Methods: This review was based on a search of PubMed using MeSH terms and keywords. Additionally, citation searching for relevant articles was performed. Results: The related literature illustrates high heterogeneity among studies with varying results. The knowledge concerning appropriate recognition of anesthesiologists as doctors ranged from 32,8% to 90.5%. However, most studies concluded that patients' knowledge regarding anesthesia is poor. There was no homogenous pattern regarding the possible impact of age, sex, education, profession or previous anesthesia on patients' knowledge. Patients' most common concern was not waking up after anesthesia. The response to patients' varying knowledge may be the use of educational aids including online alternatives. This approach limits the use of medical resources and may help to alleviate patients' anxiety. Conclusions: Future studies may focus on a thorough analysis of knowledge in a representable population followed by an observation of aspects shaping the level of education. The precise influence of patients' education on anesthesia outcomes is yet to be determined. However, further investigation may bring appropriate clinical guidance and help to ensure the best quality of anesthesia services is provided.