Facts about Anesthetic Awareness

Anesthetic awareness can be defined as a condition that occurs when a patient can recall their surroundings or an event while under general anesthesia.  Sometimes patients can even recall pain or pressure from surgery.  Despite a low frequency of cases concerning anesthetic awareness, researchers are still at work to determine what is causing anesthetic awareness and to prevent future occurrences.

Below you will find some facts about anesthetic awareness that will help give you a knowledgeable insight as to what anesthetic awareness is, how often anesthetic awareness occurs, and should you be concerned about experiencing anesthetic awareness.

Definition of awareness- Under general anesthesia, a patient is given medications intended to cause unconsciousness and relieve pain.  If the medication to render the patient unconscious fails, awareness occurs.  Further, if the medication to relieve pain fails or is inadequate, the patient may feel pain while awake.

Frequency of awareness- Anesthesia awareness occurs infrequently, and the duration and severity vary.  Patients may or may not feel pain.  Some patients experience a feeling of pressure.  It has been estimated that roughly one patient per thousand receiving general anesthesia experiences some level of awareness, usually fleeting.  It is important for patients to understand that severe awareness experiences are highly unusual.

Causes of awareness– Despite the dramatic improvements in the quality of today’s anesthesia care awareness during general anesthesia can still occur for a variety of reasons.  Common causes of anesthesia awareness are inadequate anesthesia and equipment failure or misuse.

Preventing awareness - Research into the causes and prevention of anesthesia awareness is ongoing.  Anesthesia providers combine their clinical judgment with the use of different monitoring technologies to ensure that their patients are unconscious and pain free during surgery.  Brain monitoring devices can be used to measure depth of consciousness, and are available in the majority of hospitals across the United States.  Studies have shown that these monitors can help anesthesia providers further reduce the risk of awareness.

Patients should NOT be afraid!  The remote possibility of experiencing awareness should not deter patients from having needed surgery.  The plain truth of the matter is this:  Modern surgery is only possible through the miracle of anesthesia.

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