Largest ever study of awareness during general anesthesia identifies risk factors and consequences
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 05:08
in Health & Medicine
Accidental awareness is one of the most feared complications of general anesthesia for both patients and anesthetists. Patients report this failure of general anesthesia in approximately 1 in every 19,000 cases, according to a new report. Known as accidental awareness during general anesthesia, it occurs when general anesthesia is intended but the patient remains conscious. This incidence of patient reports of awareness is much lower than previous estimates of awareness, which were as high as 1 in 600.