The effect of preoperative informing on patients' anxiety, who were planned to undergo total knee arthroplasty operation with combined spinal epidural anesthesia

In our study; we have searched the effect of preoperative audiovisual informing on patients' anxiety, who were planned to undergo total knee arthroplasty operation with combined spinal epidural anesthesia in the ward of the department of anesthesiology at the Medical Faculty of Namık Kemal University. 50 patients who were included in our study were planned for total knee arthroplasty and they were older than 18 years, evaluated in American Society of Anesthesiologists I-II risk groups. The preoperative visit was done one night before the operation on the bedside of the patients who were already evaluated in our anesthesia department. All the patients gave their informed consent after been explained in detail about the anesthesia method. The demographic data, medical and anesthetic history, previous anesthesia experiences and related anesthesia preferences were asked and registered. The patients were also asked to fill the forms The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale and were explained simultaneously by a video which was recorded by us showing the combined spinal epidural anesthesia method. The next day (operation morning) the patients were asked again to fill the form The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale during the second bedside visit. They were also asked their current preferences about the anesthesia method and their questions were answered. 90% of the patients were female, 76% were housewives, 70% of the patients were primary school graduates'. 20% of the patients did not have any previous operation, 55% had already general anesthesia, 40% regional anesthesia (spinal/epidural/combined spinal epidural anesthesia). So 80% had already an operation and anesthesia experience. After informing the patients by video, the results of The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory I-II and The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale-A, The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale-B, The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale were statistically decreased comparing to the results before the information. The results were meaningful. Consequently, the patients feel an intensive anxiety preoperatively. Thus those patients and their relatives should be informed using the technological inventions in order to reduce their preoperative anxiety.