Objective: To evaluate the different needs of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) prior to deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Background: DBS is a well established and safe treatment for patients with advanced PD [1]. However, unreliable or misleading information prior to surgery might cause unjustified fears or expectations. Therefore, a structured and patient-tailored preoperative consultation is of urgent need.

Method: Semi narrative structured interviews were conducted by a PD nurse in PD patients prior to DBS. They included questions about patient’s expectations of an optimized consultation and its influence on their fears, sorrows and decision-making. Each interview content was qualitatively analyzed based on the method by P. Mayring [2] and categorized in expectations towards the advisor, the medical team, and the nursing staff.

Results: In total ten patients were interviewed. Emotional and psychological aspects were at least equally important as providing evidence-based and comprehensive information. Detailed results are presented in Table 1.

Conclusion: This study highlights the need of a holistic and patient-tailored consultation prior to DBS. It might be used as a guideline based on emotional, psychological and informative aspects to ensure an optimized consultation for PD patients prior to DBS. Prospective studies are needed to identify ideal preoperative consultation strategies in a larger cohort of PD patients.

References: [1] Deuschl G, Schade-Brittinger C, Krack P, et al. A randomized trial of deep-brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. N Engl J Med 2006;355(9):896-908. [2] Mayring, P. (2015). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse – Grundlagen und Techniken. 12. überarbeitete Auflage. Weinheim und Basel. Beltz Verlag.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/what-patients-need-a-qualitative-analysis-of-consultations-prior-to-deep-brain-stimulation-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/