Introduction: Lumbar puncture is a safe procedure commonly performed on pediatric patients for a variety of indications. Parents are informed of and consented to this procedure, but are often left with concerns and doubts. There are no published studies of the nature of the concerns of parents in North America, and no studies examining a process to improve pediatric lumbar puncture consent. Here the investigators conduct a randomized control study of a short educational video on a handheld device as an adjunct to the formal consent process.~Methods: 72 patients were enrolled, evenly divided between the control arm and video arm of the study. A survey was provided examining four key indices: parent self-rated understanding of the procedure, their perception of its safety, their perception of the painfulness and their overall comfort with their child undergoing LP. In addition, demographic characteristics such as prior experience with LP or epidural, language spoken at home, age of the child and indication for lumbar puncture, as well as qualitative information about parent concerns were collected.
The purpose of this study is to improve the lumbar puncture (LP) consent process for pediatric patients. Though a commonly performed and safe procedure, LP can be anxiety-provoking for parents. By using an educational video on a handheld device at the time of consent, we hope to improve parent understanding and comfort with the procedure.