What is patient awareness under general anesthesia?
Awareness under general anesthesia is a rare condition that occurs when surgical patients can recall their surroundings or an event—sometimes even pain—related to their surgery while they were under general anesthesia. When using other kinds of anesthesia, such as local, sedation or regional anesthesia, it is expected that patients will have some recollection of the procedure. Studies are not conclusive on the frequency of awareness under general anesthesia, but even one case is important to anesthesia professionals (anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists), who recognize that this can be a distressing or traumatic experience for the patient. When awareness during general anesthesia does occur, it is usually just prior to the anesthetic completely taking effect or as the patient is emerging from anesthesia. In very few instances, it may occur during the surgery itself. Despite the rarity of awareness, members of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and
