Factors affecting general or regional anesthesia preference in patients with elective surgery

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the factors that affect the preference of the anesthesia method in patients who were indicated for general or regional anesthesia. Material and Methods: A descriptive questionnaire was used to evaluate the opinions of 123 patients who were planned to undergo elective surgery in the orthopedics and traumatology outpatient clinic between January 2018 and June 2019. Results: 73 women (%59) and 50 men (%41) participated in the study. The mean age was 58.62±11 years. General anesthesia was preferred in 58% of the patients. The most common reason for rejection was that the patients who preferred general anesthesia did not want to receive visual and auditory stimuli during the surgical procedure. There was a significant positive correlation between education level and regional anesthesia preference rate. There was a significant positive correlation between the regional anesthesia preference rate of patients receiving hand and foot surgery indications. Conclusion: The preference of the majority of patients was found to be general anesthesia method. Additionally, the type of surgery and education level of the patients was found to be effective in preference of the anesthesia method.