Need for preoperative information in patients undergoing surgery in the Otorhinolaryngology Department

Abstract

Aim: To determine the informational needs of preoperative patients being attended at the Otorhinolaryngology Service of the Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza of Lima, Peru.

Methods: Using cross-sectional descriptive research, 127 surgical patients from the Otorhinolaryngology Service were studied. A questionnaire asked what information and knowledge the patients had when exercising their right to decide surgery. It contained questions concerning the description of the surgical technique, complications, and risks involved in the surgery. A non-probability sample by convenience was used and the data analysis was performed with the SPSS statistical package in version 25 and the chisquare test was used to evaluate the correlation between variables.

Results: 127 patients participated, more than 75% of patients wanted to know more information about their disease and the surgical treatment, 90% stated that they needed an explanation of how the surgery would be performed, 85% wanted to know the common complications, and 20% wanted to ignore the possibility of death. Young adults and the group with higher education demanded more information (p<0.05). Concerning sex, there were no differences between the men and women in their answers other than the females needing to know the risk of death due to surgery (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Most patients need detailed information during the preoperative evaluation, especially young adults and those with higher education. Physicians should provide sufficient, clear information with realistic expectations, respecting the patient’s autonomy in decision-making.