[Quality of information in the process of informed consent for anesthesia]

Objectives: To assess the quality of the information that patients receive in the informed consent document signed prior to surgery.

Material and methods: Cross-sectional study of a sample of cancer patients admitted for surgery at the University Hospital San Cecilio of Granada in 2011. After checking the inclusion criteria and obtaining their consent, demographic data were collected and procedure data, and a questionnaire «ad hoc» to assess the quality and comprehensiveness of the information provided in the informed consent.

Results: 150 patients were studied. The majority (109 over 150) said they had received sufficient information, in appropriate language, and had the opportunity to ask questions, but only 44.7% correctly answered three or more issues related to anesthesia. University education level, knowledge of the intervention, information about the anesthesia problems and appropriate language were associated.

Conclusions: Although systematic informed consent was performed, half of the patients did not comprehend the anesthesia risks. Variables primarily related to the information received were associated with the quality of the response, but not with patient characteristics.