Awareness Under General Anesthesia

Authors

  • Luke Y.C. Chen Faculty of Medicine Dalhousie University
  • Romesh Shukla Professor, Department of Anesthesia Dalhousie University and Head, Women's and Maternal Anesthesia IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15273/dmj.Vol30No1.4308

Abstract

Summary:  The incidence and causes of awareness under general anesthesia are reviewed, as well as principles of prevention and management.  Although intra-operative awareness is rare, occurring in 0.2-0.4% of all operations done under general anesthesia, it causes severe peri-operative and post-operative complications.  Moreover, the incidence of awareness is higher in certain patients (e.g. those who are drug-tolerant), and certain procedures (e.g. cardiac surgery).  Preventing awareness has been difficult because depth of hypnosis is difficult to measure.  However, the bispectral index (BIS) system offers a new way to objectively measure depth of hypnosis.  In most cases, BIS is not necessary, but in patients and procedures where the risk of awareness is high, BIS is a useful clinical tool.  Methods:  A Medline search was performed, crossing the medical subject headings "Awareness" and "General Anesthesia", and limiting the results to reviews or meta-analyses in English.  This search yielded five relevant papers.  The reference sections of these papers were searched to obtain other relevant papers.

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How to Cite

Chen, L. Y., & Shukla, R. (2003). Awareness Under General Anesthesia. DALHOUSIE MEDICAL JOURNAL, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.15273/dmj.Vol30No1.4308

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1 (2003)

Section

Original Research

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