What Determines Patient Satisfaction with Cataract Care Under Topical Local Anesthesia and Monitored Sedation in a Community Hospital Setting?

In Brief The Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale (ISAS) is a reliable and valid tool to measure patient satisfaction with monitored anesthesia care. We used the ISAS to discover determinants of patient satisfaction with cataract care under topical local anesthesia and monitored sedation in a small community hospital. The ISAS (scored 1 to 6) was administered to 306 patients immediately after cataract surgery. All patients received topical local anesthesia and IV sedation administered by an anesthesiologist. Patient satisfaction was high: mean ISAS was 5.6 (sd 0.46; range: 3.3–6.0). The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative pain was 13% and 37%; other adverse events were infrequent (<5%). In multivariable logistic regression, significant predictors of satisfaction were postoperative pain (odds ratio [OR]: 4.84; 99% confidence interval [CI]: 2.21, 10.60), surgeon (OR: 0.21; 99% CI: 0.05, 0.91), and preoperative anxiety (OR: 1.17; 99% CI: 1.03, 1.34). ISAS mean scores (OR = 0.28; 99% CI: 0.13, 0.59) and preoperative anxiety (OR = 1.12; 99% CI: 0.99, 1.28) emerged as significant predictors of low rating of quality of experience. Our results indicate that the ISAS can be used to track patient satisfaction with monitored cataract care. Pain during and after cataract surgery is common and is a major reason for lower patient satisfaction with their cataract care. IMPLICATIONS: We used the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale, a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire, to discover determinants of satisfaction with cataract care under topical local anesthesia and monitored sedation in 306 patients at a community hospital. Overall patient satisfaction was high. Mild pain is common and is significantly associated with lower satisfaction scores.