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Anaesthesia, Pain, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine — A.P.I.C.E. pp 719–732Cite as

Awareness during Anaesthesia

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Abstract

A patient agreeing to have an operation performed under general anaesthesia expects to be unconscious and free from pain or unpleasant sensations during the surgical procedure. In fact, the introduction of muscle relaxants into anaesthetic practice made it possible for patients to be kept immobile while conscious. The advantages of light anaesthesia for major surgery became apparent, with much less circulatory depression, so it was adopted. However, the signs of anaesthesia were blurred, up to extinction, and a complication arose: “conscious awareness”. Patients can be completely aware during the whole operation or, more frequently, part of it; they may be oriented in time and space, realize that the operation is in progress, feel pain and other sensations, and hear conversation — a horrific experience.

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Authors
  1. V. A. Peduto
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Trieste University School of Medicine, Trieste, Italy

    Antonino Gullo M.D. (Head) (Head)

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Italia

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Peduto, V.A. (1997). Awareness during Anaesthesia. In: Gullo, A. (eds) Anaesthesia, Pain, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine — A.P.I.C.E.. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2296-6_66

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2296-6_66

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-75032-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-2296-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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