Prospective evaluation of preoperative concern among patients considering endoscopic sinus surgery: initial validation.

Background: Patients considering surgery face many uncertainties and concerns. This investigation aimed to develop an objective assessment tool for characterizing the areas of greatest concern among patients considering endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Methods: As part of validating a clinical measure concerning perioperative concerns, patients presenting with chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyposis were voluntarily recruited. A total of 30 individuals completed a novel 19-item questionnaire during their initial clinical visit and again 3 days later. Outcomes included descriptive statistics and test-retest reliability.

Results: Data suggest that patient responses did not vary with age or gender. The questionnaire demonstrated strong test-retest reliability, with alpha values from 0.881 to 0.942. Between-rater reliability was consistent, with an average intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.913. No relationships between question order and patient response was identified.

Conclusion: Patients considering ESS have concerns that remain stable in the early preoperative period requiring surgeon-initiated inquiry and counsel. This is the first study to evaluate preoperative patient concerns, and initially establishes the Western Surgical Concern Inventory-ESS (WSCI-ESS) as a means of ensuring adequate patient counseling and a method of evaluating perioperative patient education.