Risks associated with Anaesthesia: Patients’ Knowledge and Concerns

Abstract

Background: Misconceptions about the risk of general and regional anaesthesia are common among patients scheduled for surgery. A questionnaire survey was conducted to determine patients’ knowledge of and concern about risks associated with anaesthesia. Patients and Methods: A questionnaire consisting of 10 written statements on potential complications of anaesthesia was developed and administered preoperatively to 229 patients scheduled for elective surgery at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Participants were asked to select possible complications of anaesthesia from a list and to rate the intensity of their concerns for the 10 items on the survey as not at all, somewhat and very much. Results: There were 90 men (39.3%) and 139 women (60.7%) with a mean age of 41 years. Eighty-one patients (35.4%) had some knowledge about the risks of anaesthesia and the commonest concern was death on the operating table (34.5%). The respondents were concerned about other issues such as pain during surgical operation (30.1%), presence or absence of the anaesthetist in the operating room (29.3%), and waking up in the middle of surgery (25.8%). Being female is significantly associated with concerns about nausea and vomiting and death (p