P1460 - Attitudes of Gastroenterologists Regarding Preoperative Anxiety Prior to Colonoscopy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abdelwahab Ahmed, MD¹, Arif Musa, MS², Abdullah Naji, MD³, Jeffrey Wang, MD⁴, David Safani, MD⁵, Rana Movahedi, MD⁶, Gligor Gucev, MD⁴, Mouhanna Abu Ghanimeh, MD⁷, Tobias Zuchelli, MD^8
1McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, Detroit, MI; ²Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI; ³Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR; ⁴University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; ⁵University of California Irvine, Los Angeles, CA; ⁶University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; ⁷Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI; ⁸Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI

Introduction: Colonoscopy is often considered by patients to be an anxiety-provoking procedure. Studies have investigated different approaches to help alleviate anxiety prior to colonoscopies. However, there have been no investigations of gastroenterologists and their attitudes towards pre-procedural anxiety of patients. This study presents the largest survey assessing these attitudes.

Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was sent online to gastroenterologists of the American College of Gastroenterology to assess views regarding pre-procedural anxiety.

Results: Of the 280 complete responses, most respondents were male (n= 205, 73.21%), in practice between 0-9 years (n= 133, 47.50%), at the attending/faculty level (n= 69.53%, 194) or a fellow in training (n= 71, 25.45%), and practiced in the academic setting (n= 124, 44.13%). Most respondents did not ask their patients about pre-operative anxiety prior to colonoscopy (n= 149, 53.79%), although many responded that they would use a pre-procedural anxiety rating scale if one was available (n= 123, 44.73%). When questioned about techniques implemented to reduce anxiety about colonoscopies in their patients, the most chosen responses were, pre-operative education about the procedure (n= 223, 82.90%), permitting family members to be present (n= 90, 33.46%), and playing music (n= 77, 28.62%). On a weighted scale, most responded that the endoscopist has the most responsibility for the patient’s anxiety, followed by the anesthesiologists/CRNAs.

Discussion: The majority of gastroenterologists did not regularly measure pre-operative anxiety prior to colonoscopy and almost half would be open to the use a tool to help assess their patient’s anxiety. Gastroenterologists relied on a variety of different methods in order to reduce the anxiety patients had prior to colonoscopy. Most preferred patient education as the primary means of anxiety reduction. Responsibility for managing patient anxiety was primarily attributed to the endoscopist and the anesthesiologist/CRNA. Future directions may include the development of a specific tool for anxiety measurement specific to colonoscopy.

	No Responsibility	Some Responsibility	Major Responsibility	Total
Endoscopist	1.87% (5)	38.81% (104)	59.33% (159)	268
Anesthesiologists/CRNAs	4.53% (12)	52.83% (140)	42.64% (113)	265
Nurse or perioperative care team	1.87% (5)	58.58% (157)	39.55% (106)	268
Other Staff	26.27% (62)	61.44% (145)	12.29% (29)	236
Psychologists or Psychiatrists	54.55% (132)	38.43% (93)	7.02% (17)	242

Table: Responses regarding which entities hold responsibility for patient anxiety prior to colonoscopy.


Disclosures:
Abdelwahab Ahmed indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Arif Musa indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Abdullah Naji indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Jeffrey Wang indicated no relevant financial relationships.
David Safani indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Rana Movahedi indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Gligor Gucev indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Mouhanna Abu Ghanimeh indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Tobias Zuchelli indicated no relevant financial relationships.


Abdelwahab Ahmed, MD¹, Arif Musa, MS², Abdullah Naji, MD³, Jeffrey Wang, MD⁴, David Safani, MD⁵, Rana Movahedi, MD⁶, Gligor Gucev, MD⁴, Mouhanna Abu Ghanimeh, MD⁷, Tobias Zuchelli, MD⁸. P1460 - Attitudes of Gastroenterologists Regarding Preoperative Anxiety Prior to Colonoscopy: A Cross-Sectional Study, ACG 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Las Vegas, Nevada: American College of Gastroenterology.