A prospective study comparing conventional methods against a structured method of gaining patients' informed consent for tonsillectomy.
OBJECTIVE
By providing junior members of medical staff with appropriate guidelines one can achieve an improved standard of informed consent for tonsillectomy, than is provided at present.


METHODS
A prospective study of 138 consecutive patients.


METHODS
District General Hospital.


METHODS
A total of 138 patients undergoing routine tonsillectomy split into two groups. Group A (n=87), the conventional group, gave consent in our unit's standard manner to various grades of doctors by using a hospital general surgical consent form. Most gave their consent as outpatients, while some consented on admission. Group B (n=51), the structured consent group, gave their consent in pre-admission clinic, to an SHO using a standardized tonsillectomy consent form and a structured interview technique.


METHODS
A preoperative questionnaire regarding the knowledge of tonsillectomy.


RESULTS
Improvement of the awareness of the risks involved with tonsillectomy was achieved by the structured consent Group B; 82% of Group A were aware of postoperative pain compared with 94% of group B (P=0.04); 63% of group A were aware of infection compared with 82% of group B (P=0.02); 100% of group B had read the consent form before signing compared with 80% of group A (P<0.01). There was no statistical difference in the awareness of postoperative haemorrhage (91 versus 98%, P=0.15).


CONCLUSIONS
By providing junior medical staff with guidelines, senior staff retain responsibility for consent while improving the standard of informed consent for tonsillectomy.
Nixon
I
I
Department of ENT, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, UK. iainnixon@hotmail.com
Balaji
N
N
Hilmy
O
O
Fu
B
B
Brown
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014068:Tonsillectomy