[Readability of surgical informed consent in Spain].
BACKGROUND
To assess the readability of informed consent documents (IC) of the different national surgical societies.


METHODS
During January 2012 we collected 504 IC protocols of different specialties. To calculate readability parameters the following criteria were assessed: number of words, syllables and phrases, syllables/word and word/phrase averages, Word correlation index, Flesch-Szigriszt index, Huerta Fernández index, Inflesz scale degree and the Gunning-Fog index.


RESULTS
The mean Flesch-Szigriszt index was 50.65 ± 6,72, so readability is considered normal. There are significant differences between specialties such as Urology (43.00 ± 4.17) and Angiology and Vascular Surgery (63.00 ± 3.26, P<.001). No IC would be appropriate for adult readability according to the Fernández-Huerta index (total mean 55.77 ± 6.57); the IC of Angiology and Vascular Surgery were the closest ones (67.85 ± 3.20). Considering the Inflesz scale degree (total mean of 2.84 ± 3,23), IC can be described as «somewhat difficult». There are significant differences between the IC of Angiology and Vascular Surgery (3.23 ± 0.47) that could be qualified as normal, or Cardiovascular Surgery (2.79 ± 0.43) as «nearly normal readability»; and others such as Urology (1, 70 ± 0.46, P<.001) and Thoracic Surgery (1.90 ± 0.30, P<.001), with a readability between «very» and «somewhat» difficult. The Gunning-Fog indexes are far from the readability for a general audience (total mean of 26.29 ± 10,89).


CONCLUSIONS
IC developed by scientific societies of different surgical specialties do not have an adequate readability for patients. We recommend the use of readability indexes during the writing of these consent forms.
Servicio de Angiología y Cirugía Vascular, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, España. Electronic address: esannorberto@hotmail.com.
Enrique María
EM
San Norberto
Servicio de Cirugía General y del Aparato Digestivo, Complejo Asistencial de Palencia, Palencia, España.
Daniel
D
Gómez-Alonso
Servicio de Traumatología y Ortopedia, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, España.
José M
JM
Trigueros
Servicio de Cirugía Torácica. Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, España.
Jorge
J
Quiroga
Servicio de Cirugía Cardiovascular, Complejo Asistencial de León, León, España.
Javier
J
Gualis
Servicio de Angiología y Cirugía Vascular, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, España.
Carlos
C
Vaquero
D032882:Comprehension; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D013030:Spain; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative
Cirugía; Consentimiento informado; Informed consent; Legibilidad; Readability; Surgery