[Investigation and analysis of the incidence of awareness during general anesthesia]

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the incidence of awareness during general anesthesia in patients undergoing surgery.

Methods: A total of 1,800 patients who underwent the selected and acute surgery with general anesthesia were enrolled. Brain function monitors were not used. Patients were interviewed twice during 24 h and 96 h postoperatively to determine intraoperative awareness.

Results: Of all the inpatients, 13 (0.72%) reported clear awareness and never forgot anything during the operation; 145 (8.1%) reported dreaming during anesthesia with doubtful intraoperative recollection. Among the 145 patients, 108(74.5%) were females and 114(78.6%) received propofol anesthesia.

Conclusion: Intraoperative recollections are rare complication of general anesthesia, and are associated with the increased ASA physical status. Age and sex do not influence the incidence of awareness. Dreaming during anesthesia is related to younger females and propofol maintenance.