ArticleDigital health
Understanding anesthesia anxiety: A mixed-methods analysis of propofol discourse on reddit.
Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Propofol is widely used in procedural sedation and general anesthesia, but often provokes anxiety among patients and some providers. This study investigates the emotional and thematic landscape of propofol-related discourse on Reddit, a major online health information platform. Methods: We analyzed 921 publicly available Reddit posts referencing "propofol" and related sedation terms using a mixed-methods approach. Sentiment analysis was performed with TextBlob and complemented by manual thematic coding. Posts were categorized by subreddit, sentiment, and topic. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses examined relationships between sentiment, word count, and subreddit type. Results: Two coders achieved strong agreement (Cohen's κ = 0.82). Half of posts were neutral, whereas 30% were negative and 20% were positive. Negative sentiment was most common in patient-focused subreddits such as r/colonoscopy (38%), while provider forums like r/anesthesiology were more neutral or analytical. Among posts, 52% were patient-authored, 28% provider-authored, and 20% unclear. Patients more often expressed anxiety and confusion, while providers discussed clinical dilemmas and ethical issues. Higher word count was weakly correlated with more negative sentiment ( Conclusion: Reddit reveals emotionally rich propofol discourse, spanning patient fears and provider uncertainties. Analysis using digital health frameworks such as affective publics and the Technology Acceptance Model highlights opportunities for improved patient communication, education, and digital tool design. Limitations include platform demographic bias and limited generalizability. These findings offer a methodological foundation and conceptual framework for future digital health research and sentiment-aware clinical tools.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.