TY - JOUR
T1 - Informed consent in otologic surgery
T2 - Prospective randomized study comparing risk recall with an illustrated handout and a nonillustrated handout
AU - Henry, Eric
AU - Brown, Timothy
AU - Bartlett, Clark
AU - Massoud, Emad
AU - Bance, Manohar
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - Objective: Following consent, do pictures in a handout improve patients' recall of otologic surgical risks? Study Design: Prospective, randomized trial in a tertiary care centre. Methods: Patients undergoing otologic surgery were consented with a standardized checklist of risks by two surgeons. They were randomized (stratified by educational level) to receive either a pure text or a text and pictures handout outlining the risks of surgery. A telephone interview tested recall at a mean of 19 days. Twenty-six patients were resampled at 1 year. Main Outcome Measures: Recall was analyzed with respect to type of handout, age, sex, and level of education. A subset of 31 patients was analyzed for the effects of which surgeon consented, previous otologic surgery, and actually reading the handout. Results: Fifty-one patients completed the study. The overall risk recall was 43%, with 45% in the pictorial group and 42% in the pure text group (p = .84). The illustrated handout did not improve the recall of any individual surgical risk either. Higher education improved risk recall from 36 to 54% (p = .009). Age, consenting surgeon, previous otologic surgery, and even reading the handout did not improve risk recall. A subgroup of 26 patients was followed up 1 year later, and their recall fell from 41 to 35%. The illustrated handout did not improve long-term recall (p = .674). Conclusion: Pictorial cues do not improve recall of surgical risks, but education level does.
AB - Objective: Following consent, do pictures in a handout improve patients' recall of otologic surgical risks? Study Design: Prospective, randomized trial in a tertiary care centre. Methods: Patients undergoing otologic surgery were consented with a standardized checklist of risks by two surgeons. They were randomized (stratified by educational level) to receive either a pure text or a text and pictures handout outlining the risks of surgery. A telephone interview tested recall at a mean of 19 days. Twenty-six patients were resampled at 1 year. Main Outcome Measures: Recall was analyzed with respect to type of handout, age, sex, and level of education. A subset of 31 patients was analyzed for the effects of which surgeon consented, previous otologic surgery, and actually reading the handout. Results: Fifty-one patients completed the study. The overall risk recall was 43%, with 45% in the pictorial group and 42% in the pure text group (p = .84). The illustrated handout did not improve the recall of any individual surgical risk either. Higher education improved risk recall from 36 to 54% (p = .009). Age, consenting surgeon, previous otologic surgery, and even reading the handout did not improve risk recall. A subgroup of 26 patients was followed up 1 year later, and their recall fell from 41 to 35%. The illustrated handout did not improve long-term recall (p = .674). Conclusion: Pictorial cues do not improve recall of surgical risks, but education level does.
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U2 - 10.2310/7070.2008.0057
DO - 10.2310/7070.2008.0057
M3 - Article
C2 - 19128626
AN - SCOPUS:49149128369
SN - 1916-0216
VL - 37
SP - 273
EP - 278
JO - Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
JF - Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
IS - 2
ER -