Saudi patients' knowledge and attitude toward anesthesia and anesthesiologists--A prospective cross-sectional interview questionnaire.

Background: Patients' awareness of the duties of anesthesiologists in the operating theatres may sometimes be limited. Many studies around the world proved lack of patient perception of the anesthesiologist's role in surgical practice.

Methods: One hundred and seventy operative patients were interviewed by anesthesiologists in the peri-operative period in King Khalid University Hospital at Riyadh KSA This paper reports the results of a prospective study on these patient's interviews by filling predetermined questionnaire by the interviewer.