A multi centre telephone survey of compliance with postoperative instructions.
Patients undergoing procedures under general anaesthesia as day cases are routinely given a set of instructions regarding activities to avoid in the first 24 h after discharge. Day surgery units generally specify the need for a responsible carer from time of discharge for a period of 24 h. This study looks at the compliance of 240 patients with postoperative instructions. Of the patients studied, 4.1% drove, 1.7% made important decisions, 3.3% drank alcohol, 0.8% took sedatives and 10% cooked, ironed or looked after children. All patients were discharged into the care of a responsible adult. However, 13.3% failed to have a carer with them for 24 h and 1.3% spent the night alone at home. Of our cohort, 25% were unable to comply with the postoperative instructions in full. The majority of non-compliance occurred on the day following surgery, suggesting that patients may feel that the advice is excessively cautious.
Addenbrooke's NHS Trust, Cambridge, UK. cjccheng@yahoo.co.uk
C J C
CJ
Cheng
I
I
Smith
B J
BJ
Watson
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000592:standards*; D013689:Telephone; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods