title: Greek surgical patients' satisfaction related to perioperative anesthetic services in an academic institute.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patient satisfaction is an increasingly appreciated measure of outcome for health care procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Greek surgical patients' satisfaction with perioperative anesthetic services and to determine which factors maximize satisfaction level through all phases of perioperative care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult Greek patients admitted for elective surgery in an academic hospital were included in the study. Three separate questionnaires were constructed: Q1 (patients who underwent general anesthesia alone or combined with epidural) and Q2 (patients who received regional anesthesia alone) covered perioperative anesthetic care; Q3 covered postoperative analgesia services in the ward (patient-controlled analgesia or epidural analgesia) provided by our anesthesiologist-centered analgesia care team. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used separately for each questionnaire, and extracted factors were entered into multiple logistic regression with patient satisfaction as the dependent binary variable. Statistical significance level was set at P < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three hundred and forty-five patients were included. Q1 questionnaire (answered by 282 patients) included four dimensions: communication with the anesthesiologist, sense of cold/shivering, pain, and nausea. Q2 questionnaire (answered by 63 patients) included three dimensions: communication with the anesthesiologist, sense of cold/shivering, and nausea/anxiety. Q3 questionnaire (answered by 237 patients) included five dimensions: anesthesiologist intervention upon symptoms, pain, care by the anesthesiologist/physical activity, nausea/vomiting, and anesthesiologist behavior. The communication dimension score in Q1 and Q2, sense of shivering in Q2, and pain management and anesthesiologist behavior dimension scores in Q3 were significantly associated with patient satisfaction. Overall satisfaction rates were high (according to the questionnaire, the observed percentage was in the range of 96.3%-98.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Greek surgical patients reported high satisfaction with perioperative anesthesia care. Interaction between patient and anesthesiologists during all periods of study, absence of shivering in regional anesthesia, and adequate postoperative pain control in the ward were significant predictors of patient satisfaction in the present Greek surgical population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, General Hospital, Agios Panteleimon, Nikea, Greece.
authors.forename: Pinelopi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kouki
authors.forename: Paraskevi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matsota
authors.forename: Kalliopi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Christodoulaki
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kompoti
authors.forename: Marilia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loizou
authors.forename: Periandros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karamanis
authors.forename: Aggeliki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pandazi
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kostopanagiotou