Preoperative anxiety is incredibly common among patients seeking treatment in every field of medicine. Even common operations a surgeon may consider to be “mundane” can be a great source of anxiety to patients. The most common reason patients report for having these fears is the unknown. For this reason, additional education about the surgery is often recommended to help patients overcome their anxiety. One strategy involves showing patients videos about the surgical procedure. However, recent research published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery found that this approach might actually increase patient anxiety. The study in question involved 113 patients who had been scheduled for third molar surgery. All patients were admitted for the removal of impacted third molars and randomly divided into two groups. The control group only received verbal information about the surgery while the study group received verbal information in addition to viewing a video about the surgery online. Patient anxiety level was assessed using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale, and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.
Despite being more informed about the procedure, results showed that immediately after the consent process, the study group had higher anxiety scores than the control group (P < .05). It’s important to note that the patients watched the informational videos “in an uncontrolled situation from websites.” After surgery, the anxiety levels in both groups decreased. Researchers did not find significant differences in the VAS scores based on gender or education level. They also reported observing no correlation “between age and the other variables.” Researchers concluded that the verbal and written consent format resulted in the lowest and most manageable levels of anxiety. However, before physicians completely disregard informational videos for combating perioperative anxiety, the researchers noted that “further studies are needed to clarify whether the use of video consent with different formats, such as animation, would be more effective in managing anxiety when applied carefully and under the control of a clinician.” Videos could still be an effective way to help patients manage their anxiety before their surgery, but physicians need to first consider the best methods for presenting these videos.
Do Informational Videos Increase Preoperative Anxiety in Patients?
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Ratatouille
INGREDIENTS
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1 eggplant, peeled and chopped
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1 large onion, halved and sliced 1/2-inch thick 1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
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2 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, sliced 2 pints cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup olive oil, divided
5 sprigs thyme
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 400 F.
In the same pot, heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, and cook onion, pepper, garlic, and thyme for 8–10 minutes. Add half the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in original eggplant and zucchini mixture and top with remaining tomatoes. Do not stir. Transfer pot to oven and bake mixture for 15–20 minutes. Remove pot from oven and remove thyme bundle before serving.
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In a colander, toss eggplant, zucchini, and salt. Let sit for 30 minutes and pat dry. In an ovenproof pot, heat 1/2 cup olive oil. Add half of eggplant mixture, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Remove vegetables from pot. Tie thyme sprigs together with kitchen twine.
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