ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: "Informed consent" for surgery has been widely researched; however, there is no local data on surgical risk recall by care givers' (usually a parent) of children undergoing adenotonsillectomy (Ts &A). AIM AND OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated care givers' recall of the surgical risks for Ts&A after verbal explanation compared to combined verbal and written explanation in the informed consent process. DESIGN OF THE STUDY: This was a prospective randomized comparative study of fifty parents/guardians of patients undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for obstructive sleep disorders. SETTING: The E.N. T. Unit, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Parents/guardians of children were randomized to only verbal explanation or combined verbal and written explanations prior to signing informed consent a day before their wards' operation. Recall of surgical risks explained in the informed consent procedure was evaluated two days postoperatively. The rates of surgical risk recall for the two groups were analysed and compared. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics of the parents/guardians. The overall recall rate for surgical risks for the whole group was 46.0%. The surgical risk recall rate for the verbal explanation group, 44.4% was not significantly different from that for the combined verbal and written explanation group, 47.2% (p=0.624). There was a weak but significant positive correlation between risk recall scores and parental level of education (Spearman rs=0.306; p = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Among parents/guardians whose children were undergoing adenotonsillectomy, combining written explanation with verbal explanation in the informed consent process did not significantly improve postoperative surgical risks recall rate when compared with only verbal explanation. The overall risk recall rate was 46.0%. A study with larger sample sizes is recommended to confirm these findings.
