The Effect of Video-Assisted Informed Consent Before Thyroid Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy on Anxiety and Patient Experience in Patients with Suspected Malignancy: A Randomized Controlled Study

Objective: This study aimed to compare video-assisted informed consent with standard informed consent regarding anxiety, recall of procedure-related risks, procedural experience, and patients' perceptions of the informed consent process among patients undergoing thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsy.Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial included 76 patients who underwent thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Patients were randomly assigned to video-assisted informed consent (n=38) and standard informed consent (n=38) groups. Data were collected using a demographic information form, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and a structured questionnaire including recall of procedure-related risks, procedure experience, and patients' assessments of the informed consent process. Descriptive and comparative statistical methods appropriate to the variables' distributional characteristics and data type were used to evaluate the data. Results: The groups were similar in terms of sociodemographic characteristics. The median Beck Anxiety Inventory score was 6.00 (1.00–15.00) in the standard informed consent group and 5.50 (1.25–11.75) in the video-assisted group, with no statistically significant difference between the groups (U=724.0; p=0.988). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of recalling individual risks associated with the procedure (p>0.05). Procedure experience also showed no significant difference between the groups (p=0.854), with 73 out of 76 participants (96.1%) reporting that the procedure was as expected or better than expected.Conclusion: No statistically significant differences were found between the video-assisted and standard informed consent groups in anxiety scores, recall of procedure-related risks, procedural experience, or patient-reported assessments of the informed consent process.Keywords: Audiovisual aids, informed consent, patient education, thyroid nodule