Prospective randomised clinical trial of providing patients with audiotape recordings of their oesophagogastric cancer consultations.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate audiotape-recorded consultations at which a new diagnosis of oesophageal or gastric cancer was given to patients with reference to information retention, psychological outcome and socio-economic deprivation.


METHODS
Fifty-eight patients were randomised to receive audiotaped consultations or not. Thirty-one patients received tapes (12 oesophageal and 19 gastric cancers) and were compared with 27 control patients (12 oesophageal and 15 gastric cancers). All patients were re-interviewed and completed a hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) questionnaire. Socio-economic deprivation scores were calculated using National Indices of Multiple Deprivation.


RESULTS
Patients randomised to receive tapes were more likely to retain information (31 patients) than control patients (18 patients, p=0.001). Median (range) HAD scores were similar in both groups of patients [HAD A tape 6 (0-21) vs. no tape 5 (2-14), HAD D tape 3 (0-23) vs. 4 (0-10), respectively]. Deprivation correlated significantly with higher HAD A scores in control patients (p=0.039) but was not associated with information retention (p=0.667).


CONCLUSIONS
Taped consultations were associated with significantly better information retention without adverse psychological outcomes. Providing an audiotape may reduce the effect of socio-economic deprivation on patient anxiety.


CONCLUSIONS
Audiotaping, or its equivalent, would be a valuable tool in the multidisciplinary approach to cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract.
Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK.
M R
MR
Stephens
A L
AL
Gaskell
C
C
Gent
S
S
Pellard
R
R
Day-Thompson
G R J C
GR
Blackshaw
W G
WG
Lewis
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003142:Communication; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013637:Tape Recording / Q000379:methods*; D014852:Wales