Knowledge about anaesthesia in patients undergoing surgery: A survey

Dr. Sampathila Padmanabha; Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed

Volume : VIII, Issue : II, February - 2019

Knowledge about anaesthesia in patients undergoing surgery: A survey

Dr. Sampathila Padmanabha, Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed

Abstract :

Summary: The anaesthesiologist plays a pivotal role in perioperative period for care of the patient. This role is neither recognised nor appreciated either by the patients or general population. The contribution of the anaesthesiologist in health care set up is rarely discussed in public platforms. A cross sectional observational study was conducted on 150 patients for a period of 3 months. Though sixty percent of our patients had undergone surgeries under anaesthesia in the past, they could hardly recollect the anaesthesia procedure. The overall knowledge of anaesthesia in our study population was poor. In most of our patients (25%) the source of knowledge about anaesthesia is the treating surgeon. Only three patients knew about anaesthesia through electronic and social media. The media has tremendous potential to educate the general population about the role of anaesthesiologist in health care sector. Introduction of the team and regular post operative visits will definitely go a long way.