Journal of Anesthesiology and Pain

Aim and Background:

Awareness during anesthesia is recalling the events that occurred during general anesthesia and surgery. The experience of awareness is emotional trauma that causes a painful and exhausting emotional, and post-traumatic stress. The goal of this study is assesing the incidence of awareness during general anesthesia in patients undergoing surgery at a universitial hospital.

Methods and Materials:

This was a descriptive study performed in a university hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. 700 patients more than 18 years old, in good physical condition and cooperative who were able to speak in Persian were enrolled. The participants were interviewed 24 hours after general anesthesia and surgery using a standardized questionnaire.

 Findings:

 A total of 18 patients (2.6%) recalled some events between sleeping and waking. 59 (8.5%) had seen dreams, 19 (2.7%) had felt pain and 23 patients (3.4%) had hearing experiences. The only significant correlation between hearing awareness and location of operation, dreams and weight were obtained.

 Conclusions:

The incidence of awareness during general anesthesia in this study is more than reports from other countries.