When surveyed about their preference for induction of general anaesthesia, 55% of patients had no preference, 23% preferred the anaesthetic room, and 22% preferred the operating theatre.
Cross-Sectional (n=100)
Does the location of general anaesthesia induction (operating theatre vs. anaesthetic room) affect patient preference and anxiety?
Patient anxiety or preference should not be a barrier to inducing general anaesthesia in the operating theatre rather than an anaesthetic room.
Absolute Event Rate: 22% vs 23%
One of the recommendations in the NAP5 report was that anaesthetists should regard transferring an anaesthetised patient from the anaesthetic room to the operating theatre as a period of risk for accidental awareness under general anaesthesia 1-3. Since then, we have been inducing anaesthesia for patients in theatre, with a view to changing practice throughout our department 4. When discussing the advantages and disadvantages of this with colleagues, patient anxiety was frequently cited as a reason to continue using anaesthetic rooms. The little evidence published so far suggests that there is no difference in anxiety between patients anaesthetised in the anaesthetic room and those for whom general anaesthesia is induced in theatre 5, apart from a survey in which patients were asked to choose between photographs of the two rooms 6. As part of a service evaluation, we surveyed one hundred consecutive patients about their preference for where they would like general anaesthesia induced, having shown them an anaesthetic room and an operating theatre immediately before their operation. If they expressed a preference, they were asked two supplementary questions: (1) what was it that they preferred about their ‘chosen’ room?; (2) if they needed an anaesthetic in the future, would it bother them if the anaesthetist preferred to use the other room? Fifty-five patients expressed no preference, 23 preferred the anaesthetic room for induction and 22 preferred the operating theatre. Reasons given for preferring the anaesthetic room included: smaller and cosier (12); less technical (4); less intimidating (4); the same as the room they had last time (2); and being warmer (1). Reasons given for preferring the operating theatre included: bigger/more spacious (15); brighter/more airy (4); a nicer colour (1); and not wanting to be moved after induction of anaesthesia (2). Forty-three of 45 patients who expressed a preference stated that the anaesthetist choosing the other room would not bother them. Given the choice, two patients did not want to be anaesthetised in an anaesthetic room, one of who had previously worked in an operating theatre and didn't want to be moved while anaesthetised, the other also being aware of theatre procedures who expressed concern about being disconnected from oxygen during transfer. Our results suggest that patient anxiety should no longer be cited as a reason to use anaesthetic rooms for induction of general anaesthesia.
Frerk et al. (2016) conducted a cross-sectional in Patients requiring general anaesthesia (n=100). Operating theatre vs. Anaesthetic room was evaluated on Patient preference for induction location. When surveyed about their preference for induction of general anaesthesia, 55% of patients had no preference, 23% preferred the anaesthetic room, and 22% preferred the operating theatre.
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