Multimedia education on the day of elective cesarean section increases anxiety scores

Objective: Multimedia-based preoperative education to enhance patient knowledge improves anxiety and satisfaction rates in different clinical scenarios, but the ideal method to decrease preand perioperative anxiety remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to find out the effects of operation day multimedia education (MME) on anxiety and satisfaction rates of patients who underwent cesarean section (CS) under general anesthesia. Methods: One hundred and thirty-two patients were assessed for eligibility and 106 patients who were scheduled for elective CS under general anesthesia were randomized to MME group three hours before the operation or to controls who received solely brief verbal information. After randomization, all patients were asked to fill out State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). MME patients watched an education video about general anesthesia explaining the procedure in details and also risks and benefits. After video education, all patients in both groups asked to complete STAI-state again. All patients were operated under general anesthesia and after the operation, all patients were asked to fill out a 5-point Likert scale to measure satisfaction level. Results: There were no statistically significant differences among baseline STAI-state and STAI-trait values and the number of satisfied patients (p>0.05 for all comparisons). STAI-state scores following education were significantly increased in group MME group compared to controls (40.3±9.4 vs. 44.5±10.2 respectively, p<0.05). Conclusion: Multimedia education on operation day increases anxiety scores in elective CS patients who were operated with general anesthesia. Further studies are required to address the adequate timing and method of patient education in women undergoing CS under general anesthesia.