Assess the Effectiveness of Intra Operative Video Therapy on Anxiety among Patients under Spinal Anesthesia at Selected Hospital, Erode

Background: Awareness of surroundings during intraoperative period is a well known stressor for the surgical patients, especially spinal anesthesia patients. Apart from the sedative agents, video therapy can be used as a supportive therapy to reduce the level of anxiety among patients under spinal anesthesia.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of intra operative video therapy on anxiety among patients under spinal anesthesia. Design: Quasi-experimental design, where Pretest Posttest Nonequivalent Group design, Setting: Valli hospital, Erode, Tamilnadu. Participants: Thirty patients under spinal anesthesia fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Selection criteria: Patients undergoing spinal anesthesia for the surgeries like fistulectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, hernia repair, appendicectomy and fissurectomy, with the age group of 20-60 years and both gender were included. Patients with hearing and visual impairment, sedation, spinal anesthesia converted to general anesthesia and unstable vital parameters were excluded.

Methods: Out of 30 patients, 15 patients were selected as experimental group and 15 patients were selected as control group by convenient sampling technique. Experimental group were shown video-therapy by using portable DVD player with the head phone, instead of using eye pad (control group). Level of anxiety was measured by Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) before and after the procedure.

Results: The results show that most of the patients under spinal anesthesia were male, non medical workers, and undergone fissurectomy, fistulectomy and hemorrhoidectomy surgeries and most of their surgeries had completed in less than an hour. In posttest, 53% had no/low anxiety in control group, whereas 87% had no/low anxiety in experimental group. The patient's level of anxiety reduced from the mean value of 36.33±8.96 and 35.67±7.78 to 34.33±8.06 and 28.07±5.54 in control and experimental group respectively. Paired 't' test score was 10.43 and unpaired 't' test score was 2.42, which is significantly effective at P<0.05. Chi square test showed only trait anxiety in control group and duration of surgery and trait anxiety in experimental group have significant association (P<0.05) and other demographic variables (age, gender, name of surgeries, previous history of surgery, occupation) have no significant (P>0.05) association with post test score of level of anxiety in both control and experimental group.

Conclusion: Video therapy is an effective intervention to reduce the level of anxiety among patients under spinal anesthesia.