Effects of preoperative education on spinal surgery patients

BACKGROUND Preoperative patient education (PE) has been used by many institutions to deal with patient anxiety, pain control, and overall satisfaction. Although the literature suggests PE's effectiveness in joint reconstruction, data are missing in spinal surgery. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed patients having elective spinal surgery who underwent PE (spine pre-care class) from October 2009 to March 2010. Of the 155 patients surveyed, 77 (49.7%) attended the class whereas 78 (50.3%) did not. RESULTS Of the participants in the pre-care class, 96% were satisfied with their pain management versus 83% in the control group (P =.02). There was also a trend for better overall satisfaction in the pre-care class group (91% vs 85%; P > .05, multiple regression analysis). Elderly women tend to be less satisfied with pain management and overall treatment. CONCLUSIONS Implementation of PE has had a positive impact on patient satisfaction, especially in terms of pain management.