Geriatric patients' knowledge,desire for information and concerns regarding anesthesia [Geriatrik hastalarin anestezi ile ilgili bilgi düzeyi,anestezi hakkinda bilmek istedikleri ve anesteziye baʇli kaygilari]

Objective: the aim of this study is to search perception of geriatric population about the role of anesthesiologist,desire for information and concerns of geriatric patients about anesthesia. method: after gaining ethics approval,100 patients between the ages of 18-64 (group i),100 patients 65 years old and ower (group ii) answered questionnarie forms before the operation. geriatric patients were compared with non geriatric adult patients. results: both groups have a high level of information about the role of anesthesiologists,the facts that anesthesia is given by anesthesiologist and anesthesiologists are physician. geriatric patients meet their anesthesiologist before the operation more than other group and also geriatric patients are more open to accept different types of anesthesia suggested by their anesthesiologists. geriatric patients mostly want to know about the serious and life threatining side effects of anesthesia. geriatric patients mostly worry about the risk of permanent paralyses after anesthesia. geriatric patients who have previous anesthesia experience are worried about pain after surgery. conclusion: an important way of informing patients about anesthesia,reducing worries and anxiety of patients is preoperative visits. the result is that more time is needed to be allocated to the patients during preoperative visits and considering their expectations is very important.