Tell patients reason for pre-op fasting
In a recent study, only 22% of patients surveyed correctly understood the reason for fasting before outpatient surgery.1 Patients who didn't understand the reason were nearly five times more likely to underrate the importance of compliance.
Of the 100 patients surveyed, 2% said they did not comply by fasting, and 4% said they would consider misrepresenting whether they had fasted if it was inconvenient for them to postpone the surgery.
"The results of this study suggest a need to better inform day surgery patients about the reason for preoperative fasting," the authors conclude. "A better understanding of the need for preoperative fasting may lead to improved compliance and patient safety.
However, there is another way of looking at the results. "That even though patients don't understand pre-op — or even post-op — instructions, compliance is generally high, with little sequela for complications," says Rebecca S. Twersky, MD, MPH, medical director of the Ambulatory Surgery Unit at Long Island College Hospital and professor of anesthesiology at State University of New York Downstate, both in Brooklyn.
Reference
- Walker H, Thorn C, Omundsen M. Patients' understanding of preoperative fasting. Anaesth Intensive Care 2006; 34:358-361.
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