ABSTRACT : Preoperative fear and anxiety affects a patient both physically and mentally. Providing preoperative information can alleviate patients’ anxiety. There are different methods of preoperative counselling which have an effect on the perioperative anxiety in patients undergoing surgery under regional anaesthesia. We have undertaken a study to find an ideal and feasible method of delivering this information to the patients.

METHODS : Ninety ASA I and II patients between 18-65years were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: Group A(personal interview), Group B(personal interview & brochure), Group C(personal interview & video). Anxiety levels were measured before and after the preanaesthetic evaluation and before the surgical procedure and after the procedure using the state trait anxiety inventory-state (STAI-S) and a visual analogue scale-anxiety (VAS-A).

RESULTS : After the preanaesthetic counselling there was an overall decrease in the anxiety levels with respect to the three groups using STAI ( p < 0.0001) and VAS ( p < 0.0001). All the three groups were comparable. The video group caused a significant decrease in the anxiety levels in the postoperative period (p = 0.037) using STAI scale in comparison to the other two groups.

CONCLUSIONS : Our study suggests that there is a decrease in anxiety levels irrespective of the method of counselling being used. The video group had a significant decrease in the anxiety levels in the postoperative period (STAI scale) when compared to the others. The video plays a crucial role in allaying anxiety throughout the perioperative period