Objective. To better appreciate perioperative concerns affecting patients considering thyroidectomy and to understand how they may vary according to patient characteristics.Study Design. Cross-sectional analysis. Setting. Tertiary referral center.Subjects and Methods. The authors recruited patients scheduled for thyroid surgery at the McGill University Thyroid Cancer Center. A total of 148 patients completed the 18-item Western Surgical Concern Inventory-Thyroid (WSCI-T) questionnaire. Psychometrics of the WSCI-T were assessed through a principal component analysis with varimax rotation and reliability analyses. Independentsamples t tests and 2-tailed Pearson correlations were ran, identifying areas of elevated concerns and their relationship to gender, age, and surgical procedure (total vs hemithyroidectomy).Results. The principal component analysis revealed the presence of 3 domains of presurgical concerns on the WSCI-T: Surgery-Related Concerns, Psychosocial Concerns, and Daily-Living Concerns. Reliability coefficients for the WSCI-T Total and subscales were satisfactory. Responses on the WSCI-T indicated on average a moderate overall level of concerns before thyroidectomy. Surgery-Related Concerns was the highest domain of concerns, followed by Daily-Living and Psychosocial Concerns, respectively. Patients were mainly worried about the nodule being cancerous, experiencing a change in voice, and surgical complications. Areas of minor concern included being judged or treated differently, becoming depressed, and feeling embarrassed. Women had higher overall levels of concern than men did. Although there were no significant differences in overall levels of concern according to age and surgical procedure, differences were noted at a subscale and item level.Conclusion. This study establishes a mean that will permit adequate physician counseling and a better management of patients' perioperative worries.
OBJECTIVE: 1) Better appreciate the perioperative concerns affecting patients considering thyroidectomy. 2) Understand that concerns may vary depending on the population, and age.3) Ensure that perioperative counseling is directed towards the areas of greatest concerns experienced by patients considering thyroidectomy. METHOD: Patients scheduled for thyroid surgery at the McGill University Thyroid Cancer Center in Montreal, Canada were recruited. To date, 30 individuals completed the 18-item questionnaire adapted from the Western Surgical Concern Inventory (WSCI). The WSCI is used to elucidate the different perioperative areas of concern of these individuals. Outcomes included descriptive statistics as well as sub-analyses pertaining to age and the type of surgery (total vs. hemi-thyroidectomy). RESULTS: Top areas of concern included: the nodule being cancerous (highest), needing a second operation (2nd highest), and having a change in voice (3rd highest). Areas of minor concern included: being judged, embarrassed, and not being able to participate in social activities post-operatively. The younger the patients, the more concerned they were about: resuming work following surgery(rϭ-0.54, p Ͻ 0.01); being judged (rϭ-0.48, p Ͻ 0.01); and participating in social activities post-surgery (rϭ-0.48, p Ͻ 0.01). There were no significant differences or trends in the overall level of pre-surgical concerns between total and hemi-thyroidectomy patients (t(28)ϭ0.21, pϭ0.83), except for a higher degree of concern for pain in total thyroidectomy patients compared to hemithyroidectomy patients (t(28)ϭ1.72, pϭ0.097). CONCLUSION: This study establishes a mean which will permit adequate physician counseling and a better management of patients' perioperative worries.
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