Patients and jargon: are we speaking the same language?

Study ObjectiveTo assess the ability of surgical patients to understand words commonly used during the anesthetic preoperative visit.DesignQuestionnaire study.SettingPreanesthetic holding area of a university hospital.Patients96 perioperative ASA physical status I, II, III, and IV outpatients and patients to be admitted.InterventionsPatients were asked to complete a questionnaire that asked each to define 10 terms commonly used during the preoperative interview. Patients also answered three demographic questions as part of the survey.MeasurementsUnderstanding of 10 commonly used terms, first language, age, and highest education level were all recorded.Main ResultsOf the 10 terms, 4 had a greater than 80% correct response rate: EKG, IV, general anesthesia, and local or regional anesthesia, with correct response rates of 92.7%, 91.7%, 81.3%, and 81.3%, respectively. The terms with the poorest understanding were NPO (31.3%), MI (32.3%), and pulse ox (39.6%). The rest of the terms, with their correct response rates, were as follows: GERD (67.7%), hypertension (70.8%), and intubate (60.4%). Whereas higher education was associated with correct answer score, age was not.ConclusionsMost patients understand the words EKG and IV. Further clarification might be needed when discussing general and regional anesthesia, and other words should be avoided or else explained.