Effect of general anesthesia during GI endoscopic procedures on patient satisfaction

Aim: To compare the conventional GI endoscopy and using general anesthesia during the procedure regarding the satisfaction and acceptance among Iranian patients. Background: Ability to measure and assess the patients satisfaction with colonoscopy and upper endoscopy will improve the quality of health care provided by gastroenterologists and thus resulting in better acceptability of endoscopy. Patients and methods: In a prospective, multicenter, non-randomized clinical trial 756 patients were included between 2009 and 2010. A satisfaction developed questionnaire was answered by the patients who were candidate for elective upper and/or lower GI endoscopy within 72 hours after the procedure. Total satisfaction score was measured and compared between endoscopy patients with and without anesthesia. Different variables analyzed in order to find the influencing factors in patient satisfaction during the endoscopic procedures. Results: The mean age of patients was 40.7 ± 15.1 years and 59% of them were female. Overall, 50.5% of patients underwent general anesthesia during the endoscopic procedure. There was a significant correlation between education level and satisfaction with the endoscopy. Also, anesthesia during endoscopy significantly increased the total satisfaction score of the patients (OR= 2.07, 95% CI: 1.24-2.9, P 0.0001). Conclusion: The level of patient s education and using anesthesia during GI endoscopy were two factors influencing the total patient satisfaction with the endoscopic procedures. Thus, we suggest using anesthesia for GI endoscopic procedures.