title: A prospective study comparing conventional methods against a structured method of gaining patients' informed consent for tonsillectomy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, UK. iainnixon@hotmail.com
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nixon
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Balaji
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hilmy
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: 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