The effect of informative video before the procedure on anxiety levels in patients who will have ureteral stent removal under local anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the impact of video-animated information on the anxiety levels of patients undergoing ureteral stent removal under local anesthesia.

METHOD: The study was designed as a randomized prospective trial. The one group received only verbal and written information before the surgery, while the other group received video-animated information in addition to the written and verbal instructions. The patients' anxiety levels were assessed using the STAI-S and STAI-T questionnaires, while their pain scores were evaluated using VAS scores. Tolerability and satisfaction scores were also evaluated on a 5-point likert scale.

RESULTS: The video-group (Group 1) consisted of 74 patients, while the non-video group (Group 2) consisted of 82 patients. The mean pre-information STAI-T score was 34.4 ± 3.7 in Group 1 and 35.2 ± 3 in the Group 2 (p = 0.113). In the video group, pre-information STAI-S scores was 34.8 ± 3.3 and post-information STAI-S scores was 33.8 ± 3 (p < 0.001). In the non-video group, pre-information STAI-S score was 35.6 ± 2.6 and post-information STAI-S score was 35.5 ± 2.7 (p = 0.260). The mean VAS score of Group 1 is 5.7 ± 1.2 and Group 2 is 5.7 ± 1.4 (p = 0.608). The mean tolerability scores of Group 1 and Group 2 were 3.7 ± 0.9 and 2.7 ± 1, respectively. The mean satisfaction scores of Group 1 and Group 2 were 4.1 ± 0.9 and 2.6 ± 1, respectively. Both tolerability score and satisfaction score improved statistically significantly after video information (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Providing video-animated information in addition to written and verbal information before removing the ureteral stent reduces patients' preoperative anxiety. Furthermore, patient tolerance and satisfaction are higher when informative videos are included.