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Intraoperative texting may lower the anxiety of parents with children undergoing PSF surgery
Researchers of this prospective, non-randomized study found parents who received intraoperative text messages from surgeons while their children were undergoing posterior spinal fusion had less anxiety than parents who did not receive such messages.
Researchers included 96 parents (47 fathers, 49 mothers) of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients who were studied at two centers. One group did not receive any intraoperative text messages (group 1), and the second group received periodic intraoperative text messages (group 2). Anxiety was assessed using a validated VAS for anxiety (VAS-A) and the anxiety component of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Score (HADS). The assessment was carried out 6 hours before the posterior spinal fusion (PSF) surgery (P1), at separation in the operation theater (P2), 1 hour after commencement of surgery (P3), immediately after surgery (P4) and 1 day after surgery (P5).
Researchers found the anxiety level for group 1 parents peaked at P2, and the HDS scores for the group peaked at P3. For group 2, there was a steady decline in parental anxiety from P1 to P5 and they had significantly lower mean VAS and HADS scores during P3 and P4. Group 2 had lower mean VAS-A and HADS scores at nearly all time points than group 1.
“The findings of this study showed that [short message service] SMS is an effective intervention to reduce parental anxiety of AIS patients undergoing PSF surgery,” researchers wrote in the study. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.