RCT assessing intraoperative patient experience in cataract surgery.V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effect of preoperative education on patients’ intraoperative experience of cataract surgery: Standard written information vs. interactive audio-visual resource- a randomized controlled trial
IRAS ID
143544
Contact name
Tamsin Sleep
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
South Devon NHS Trust
Research summary
Cataract surgery is a very common procedure performed under local anaesthetic worldwide. Patient awareness during cataract surgery can cause anxiety due to lack of familiarity with events of the procedure, the perception of surgical instruments, and noises made by phacoemulsification (surgical instrument which uses ultrasonic sound to break up the lens affected by cataract and vacuum it away). Previous research suggests that patient education can improve the intra-operative experience of awake patients undergoing cataract surgery. Currently, patient education is predominantly delivered through counselling by healthcare professionals and/or written information. However, there is growing popularity for computer-based audio-visual resources. This trial aims to compare the impact of written information versus an interactive video on informing patients’ expectations of cataract surgery, patients’ anxiety during the procedure, and overall patient satisfaction.
Patients undergoing cataract surgery under local anaesthetic at Torbay Hospital in the UK are recruited on a voluntary basis and randomly allocated to either the control group where they receive the standard trust cataract surgery written information only, or to the interventional arm where they receive both the standard trust cataract surgery written information, as well as, a link to an interactive video resource. While both resources inform patients about the preparation before surgery and post-operative recovery, only the online interactive video is able to actually demonstrate the surgical procedure. All patients will fill out a trial questionnaire after undergoing cataract surgery in post-operative recovery. Data will be collected over three months. It will be analysed and produced in a report over three months.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0092
Date of REC Opinion
13 Feb 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion