• Carolyn Deng, Tanisha Jowsey, Ines Becker, Doug Campbell, Jack Hill, Jignal Bhagvandas, Ralph Fuchs, Nicholas J Lightfoot, Kaveh Djamali, and Jennifer Weller.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Te Toka Tumai Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: carolynd@adhb.govt.nz.
• Br J Anaesth. 2025 Feb 1.

BackgroundWe explored how adult surgical patients perceived their risk of major postoperative complications, including neurological complications, and how much information they wanted to receive about such risks.MethodsWe undertook a mixed-methods study including a 13-item survey and thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with patients undergoing noncardiac, non-neurologic surgery.ResultsOf 557 distributed surveys, 547 were returned completed. Of these, 88% of respondents had previously undergone surgery. Respondents were most likely to indicate an extreme level of concern for major stroke (64%), followed by heart attack (56%), minor stroke (46%), and cognitive decline (43%). Women were more likely to indicate a higher level of concern for cognitive decline than men (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.4, P=0.015). Seventeen people participated in interviews. Six themes were identified: (1) trust in healthcare professionals; (2) surgery to achieve hopes and ambitions; (3) previous experiences govern expectations and perception of risk; (4) positive outlook and spirituality as protective factors; (5) support matters; and (6) a personalised approach to risk discussion.ConclusionsMany participants did not know the risks of major perioperative complications but based their risk perception on previous experiences and trust in health professionals. Participants focused on hope more than their concerns. Information provision should be personalised as patients expressed differences in the desired amount of information on risks.Copyright © 2025 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

8 keywords...

hide…