Factors Affecting Perioperative Patient Satisfaction with Regional Anesthesia: A Patient-Centered Survey Study

Abstract

Objective: To determine the demographic and clinical characteristics that affect patient satisfaction with regional anesthesia. Methods: This study was conducted at Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Hospital between June-July 2019. The patients were included on a voluntary basis and all had undergone obstetrics, urology, orthopedics or general surgery, and met the following inclusion criteria: (1) age >18 years, (2) received regional anesthesia, (3) ASA-PS score of <= 3, and (4) no cognitive problem that would prevent self-expression. A Personal Information Form and the Evaluation of the Experience of Regional Anesthesia Questionnaire were applied to 402 patients at 48 hours after surgery performed under regional anesthesia in a university hospital in Turkey. Results: The EVAN-LR total scores were 71.2 +/- 15.6 in obstetrics patients, followed by 54.9 +/- 24.9 in orthopedic patients, 26.6 +/- 24.4 in urology patients and 15.9 +/- 7.2 in general surgery patients (p<0.001). In the comparisons of the subscale points of the EVAN-LR points of attention (58.2 +/- 34.5), information (57.6 +/- 31.8), discomfort (41.1 +/- 31.8), waiting (45.4 +/- 36.4) and pain (36.5 +/- 32.7), the lowest mean scores of EVAN-LR were seen to be in the subscale of pain. The total mean scores of males were determined to be higher than those of females (p<0.05). The EVAN-LR total scores of the patients administered with premedication were statistically significantly higher than those of the patients who did not receive premedication (p<0.001). According to the multiple linear regression model, the best predictive variables for patient satisfaction with regional anesthesia were gender, history of anesthesia, and premedication. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the satisfaction with the regional anesthesia service of the participants was at a moderate level. This indicates the need to educate the anesthesia team to increase the patient satisfaction with regional anesthesia, especially in respect of postoperative pain management.