Evaluation of patient satisfaction with provided spinal anesthesia for Cesarean delivery - a survey in Leskovac General Hospital, Serbia

Introduction/Objective To ensure that all patients receive the best possible anesthetic care, it is essential to continuously evaluate our practices and strive for improvement. The objective of this study was to internally assess the anesthesia services provided during the peripartum period. Methods The Anesthesiology Department of Leskovac General Hospital, Serbia (LGH) aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction with spinal anesthesia (SA) for Cesarean delivery (CD) using a questionnaire consisting of four open-ended questions. Following Institutional Review Board approval, an institutional-based survey was conducted from August 2021 to July 2022. During the study period, 624 (40.6%) of the total 1535 deliveries in LGH were CDs, with 311 (49.8%) of them performed under SA. Of the patients who underwent CD under SA, 87 agreed to anonymously complete the questionnaire. Results Although patients had sufficient space to provide detailed responses, the majority of participants opted for brief answers, often limited to "yes" or "no". Of the surveyed participants, 78% were informed about SA for CD before delivery, and 96.6% expressed satisfaction with the information provided during the preoperative anesthesiologist's visit. Additionally, the majority of participants (94.3%) reported satisfaction with the postoperative analgesia they received. Conclusion Our patients expressed high levels of satisfaction with the preoperative anesthesiologist's visit and the SA provided for CD. However, there is a need to improve antenatal education for expectant mothers in the field of anesthesia. Conducting a new and more detailed survey would be necessary to further explore the influence of patient education and socio-economic status on patient satisfaction.