The effect of an information video on preoperative anxiety level before percutaneous nephrolithotomy procedure: A prospective, randomized trial.

Introduction: We aimed to show the effect of patient information videos on preoperative anxiety before performing the percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL ) for kidney stones.

Methods: This study was designed as a randomized, controlled trial with patients scheduled for PCNL operation for kidney stones. Demographic information, such as age, gender, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, were collected. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (ST AI) was used to measure anxiety levels. Before informing the patients, anxiety levels were evaluated using the ST AI-state (pre-information ST AI-S) and ST AI-trait (ST AI-T). Patients were randomly divided into two groups: both groups received written and verbal information, while the "video" group was also shown a video of a PCNL procedure. The post-information anxiety levels of both groups were evaluated using ST AI-S (post-information).

Results: A total of 109 patients were included in the study and 50 patients were included in each group after nine patients were excluded. The participants in the two groups were similar in terms of gender distribution, mean age, and pre-information ST AI-S scores. Post-information ST AI-S scores were statistically significantly lower in the video group (p=0.02). There was no significant difference between post-information and pre-information ST AI-S scores in the no-video group (p=0.86), whereas a significant decrease was found in post-information ST AI-S scores in the video group (p<0.01).

Conclusions: In addition to written and verbal information before PCNL operations, informative videos are an inexpensive, effective method to reduce preoperative anxiety levels. Video-based briefing may be routinely used in addition to preoperative verbal and written information.