The correlation between thrombolysis decision-making anxiety and decision-making duration among surrogate decision-makers of patients with acute ischemic stroke
Objective To explore the anxiety level,influencing factors among surrogate decision-makers of patients with acute ischemic stroke during thrombolysis decision-making,and their correlation with decision-making duration.Methods Acute ischemic stroke patients and their surrogate decision-makers who visited the Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from September 2019 to December 2021 were selected as the research subjects.Sociodemographic data and disease related data of patients and surrogate decision-makers were collected.Surrogate decision-makers were evaluated with the state-trait anxiety inventory,decision participation expectation scale,Wake Forest physician trust scale,and perceived social support scale.SPSS 26.0 software was used for data processing.Pearson correlation a-nalysis,Spearman correlation analysis and ridge regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.Results The score of state anxiety of decision-makers was(49.47±9.04),and 18.2%(70/383)of decision-makers had a decision duration exceeding 15 minutes.The score of state anxiety of decision-makers was positively correlated with decision duration(r=0.189,P<0.001).The influencing factors of state anxiety level of deci-sion-makers included sociodemographic factors(age of decision-makers and patients,relationship between payers and patients,whether decision-makers bear the current medical expenses,type of medical insurance for patients),psychological factors(trust level in physicians,perceived social support),factors related to patient disease(numbers of stroke relapses,National Institutes of Health stroke scale scores for patients),character-istics of the decision-making process(whether patients participate in the decision-making process,and the role of decision-makers in the decision-making process)(all P<0.05).Conclusion Most surrogate deci-sion-makers experience anxiety.Medical staff should pay attention to the emotions of decision-makers and a-dopt appropriate communication skills when communicating with informed consent for thrombolysis,alleviate the anxiety of surrogate decision-makers,so as so reduce the decision-making duration.