• Manuel Silva, João Silva, João Novo, Flávia Oliveira, Emília Carneiro, and Joana Mourão.
• Departamento de Anestesiologia. Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto FG, EPE (IPO-Porto). Porto. Portugal.
• Acta Medica Port. 2022 Oct 3; 35 (10): 743-748.

IntroductionDue to the advances in anesthetics and surgery, ambulatory surgery plays an increasingly important role. This regimen, despite showing several advantages, still instills fear in patients. The aim of this was to evaluate the level of knowledge and the perspective of patients regarding ambulatory surgery.Material And MethodsA prospective study was carried out for two months in patients with pre-anesthetic consultation at a University Hospital Center. Demographic information, educational level, and previous ambulatory surgery were surveyed. Patients' level of knowledge about surgery, satisfaction, and the perceived advantages and fears regarding this regimen were evaluated. The analysis was performed with SPSS, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsTwo hundred and fifty-one patients were included. One hundred and twenty-eight (51%) patients disclosed having knowledge about ambulatory surgery. The main advantages perceived by patients were more peaceful recovery (44.7%), avoiding being surrounded by other patients (43.1%), and avoiding infection (37.2%). The main fears shown by patients were poor pain control (20.7%), having other health problems (13.1%), and poor control of nausea or vomiting (10%).ConclusionPatients may benefit from being more informed about the ambulatory surgical regimen in order to decrease their fears and increase their acceptance of the regimen. Providing more information to patients may result in increased satisfaction with this regimen.

8 keywords...

hide…