Enhancing Patient Outcomes in ENT Surgery: The Impact of Tailored Preoperative Educational Interventions on Anxiety Reduction.

Unlabelled: Preoperative anxiety significantly affects postoperative outcomes and patient satisfaction in surgical settings. Studies has highlighted the effectiveness of preoperative education in surgical setting; however, there is a gap in studies within ENT surgery. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of tailored educational interventions in reducing preoperative anxiety and improving recovery outcomes among patients undergoing ENT surgeries. This single-center, randomized controlled trial included 200 adult patients scheduled for elective ENT surgeries, divided into an intervention group receiving comprehensive, tailored preoperative education, and a control group receiving standard information. Primary outcomes were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for anxiety and physiological markers such as heart rate variability (HRV), cortisol levels, and galvanic skin response (GSR), assessed at baseline and just before surgery. Secondary outcomes focused on patient satisfaction and recovery speed post-surgery. The intervention group showed significant reductions in HADS scores from 14.5 ± 2.6 to 8.3 ± 2.2 ( < 0.001) and improvements in HRV (+ 10.4 ms,  < 0.001), cortisol levels (- 3.4 µg/dL,  < 0.001), and increased patient satisfaction scores from 75.3 ± 12.5 to 88.4 ± 10.2 ( < 0.001). Recovery was rated as 'Fast' by 75% of the intervention group, compared to 'Moderate' by 70% of the control group. Tailored educational interventions significantly reduced anxiety and improved recovery in ENT surgery patients, supporting their inclusion in clinical guidelines and highlighting their potential cost-effectiveness for optimizing surgical outcomes.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-024-05292-5.