title: Patient comprehension and recall of laparoscopic surgery and outcomes in a non-English speaking population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine patient recall and comprehension after laparoscopic appendectomy in an underserved population. Laparoscopic surgery can lead to diagnostic uncertainty secondary to poor recall and variable port placement.
  
  
  METHODS
  After institutional review board approval, we identified a cohort of patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy from 2000 to 2004 at a single institution. We then attempted to contact the patients to conduct a 10-question telephone survey, which determined whether the patient spoke English or Spanish as a primary language, ethnicity, educational level, and questions about recall of perioperative events and diagnoses. If we could not reach the patient, we tried to call back on 2 different occasions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between 2000 and 2004, 186 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy. Of these, 65% were Hispanic. We found that only 17% of these patients returned for a postoperative visit. Only 19.3% could be contacted by phone. Forty-seven percent of the patients contacted by phone spoke Spanish exclusively. Overall 92% of patients contacted knew what operation they had, and gave their correct diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The low percentage of patients available to follow-up makes this study statistically insignificant. However, we believe that fact in itself is important. In Southwestern states, we see a large migrant population. This highlights the need to communicate effectively with the patients at the time of surgery, which we speculate we did based on the percentage of patients that knew their diagnosis.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Clapp
authors.forename: Melba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jarmillo
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vigil
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Macias
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouton
authors.forename: Cuatemoc
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gallardo
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kassir
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001062:Appendectomy / Q000379:methods*; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000601:surgery; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology