Objective: To assess overall perioperative and anesthetic care-specifi
c patient satisfaction. Design: We mailed questionnaires postoperative
ly to three groups of surgical patients (those who underwent anesthesi
a without complications, those who experienced airway management diffi
culties, and those who had cardiovascular perturbations) and analyzed
the responses. Material and Methods: All patients 18 to 75 years of ag
e who underwent hospital-based surgical procedures in our acute-care h
ospitals during the interval from January to September 1993 were eligi
ble for this investigation. We asked a total of 315 patients-105 in ea
ch of the three study groups-about their satisfaction with perioperati
ve care. Specific positive or negative comments that the patients retu
rned in their questionnaires were tabulated into the following subcate
gories: physician, nurse, technique, time, and institution concerns. R
esults: Of the 315 questionnaires sent to patients, 239 (75.9%) were r
eturned. No difference in overall patient satisfaction (defined as ver
y satisfied or a combination of very satisfied and satisfied) was note
d among the groups. No patients identified themselves as dissatisfied
or very dissatisfied with their overall care, although a small percent
age expressed dissatisfaction because of time delays. The specific pat
ient comments suggested that the positive interactions with physicians
and nurses outweighed the concerns about time delays. Conclusion: Thi
s study showed that intraoperative anesthetic events did not affect pa
tient satisfaction. Interactions with physicians and nurses dominated
the decision about patient satisfaction, and time delays were the most
frequently cited negative comment.