PARENTAL DESIRE FOR PERIOPERATIVE INFORMATION AND INFORMED CONSENT - A 2-PHASE STUDY

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the perioperative an esthetic information parents want from the anesthesiologist, and to de termine whether the provision of detailed anesthetic risk information is associated with increased parental anxiety. The investigation consi sted of a cross-sectional study followed by a randomized controlled tr ial. In Phase 1, baseline and situational anxiety, coping strategy, an d temperament were obtained from parents of children undergoing surger y (n = 334). A questionnaire examining the desire for perioperative in formation was administered to all parents. In Phase 2, 47 parents were randomly assigned to receive either routine anesthetic risk informati on (control) or detailed anesthetic risk information (intervention). T he effect of the intervention on parental anxiety was assessed over fo ur time points: prior to the intervention, immediately after the inter vention, day of surgery in the holding area, and at separation to the operating room. For Phase 1, the majority of parents (>95%) preferred to have comprehensive information concerning their child's perioperati ve period, including information about all possible complications. For selected items, increased parental educational level was associated w ith increased desire for information (P < 0.05). For Phase 2, when the intervention group was compared with the control group, there were no significant differences in parental anxiety over the four time points [F(1,45) = 0.6, P = 0.4]. Also, the interaction between time and grou p assignment was not significant [F(3,135) = 1.66, P = 0.18]. We concl ude that parents of children undergoing surgery desire comprehensive p erioperative information. Moreover, when provided with highly detailed anesthetic risk information, the parental anxiety level did not incre ase.