Identifying Risk Factors and Managing Recurrence of Anesthesia Awareness

Abstract

Awareness under anesthesia is the recall of events that happened during general anesthesia. Researchers have tried for years to interpret risk factors that make patients more inclined to be affected. There are certain ramifications that this can cause, like mental health issues and further issues of distrust in healthcare professionals. This literature synthesis addresses intraoperative awareness, the risk factors, and potential resulting repercussions. The literature included articles about the causes, risk factors, management, and effects of anesthesia awareness. The current findings show that there is hope that these new risk factors and detection methods can prevent and decrease this prevailing complication. As we have found out, some of the reasons that people experience awareness are medications being ineffective, neuromuscular blocking agents, obesity, cesarean sections, equipment failures, comorbidities, heart operations, prescription of amnesic medications, and human error. This topic needs to be explored further and, in more depth, to address preventative measures to reduce this surgical complication.