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During more than 25 million surgical procedures performed every year on Americans, the use of anesthesia to block pain signals from traveling through the nervous system is necessary. The patient's condition and the procedure performed will determine what anesthesia is used, but according to a report issued in October 2004, as many as 40,000 patients wake up during general anesthesia each year.
The term known as anesthesia awareness refers to when a patient under general anesthesia is not rendered unconscious but instead remains aware of all events that occur during surgery. A nonprofit group called Joint Commission On Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations issued a "sentinel event alert" about the problem of anesthesia awareness to more than 15,000 U.S. health care organizations. The commission was first founded in 1951 and evaluates and accredits hospitals and other health care providers nationwide.
According to the group's report regarding anesthesia awareness, the 40,000 patients that wake up during general anesthesia every year represents only one or two cases in every 1,000 general anesthetics administered, however, the experience can be extremely traumatic. Patients who have experienced anesthesia awareness report recurring fears, nightmares and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Anesthesia awareness has been described as a feeling of being stuck within their bodies, unable to move or scream all while experiencing the surgical procedure.
Reportedly, anesthesia awareness occurs most often during heart surgery, obstetric operations or major trauma cases when anesthesia is given in smaller doses to lessen the stress on the heart of an unborn child. Anesthesia awareness malpractice suits have been filed on behalf of patients claiming permanent psychological damage from the fear and pain of the experience. The American Society of Anesthesiologists is expected to decide whether to endorse brainwave monitoring in the fall of 2005.
The device is made by Aspect Medical Systems, and it indicates whether a patient is awake or asleep. Though FDA approved and already installed in 15,000 operating rooms, many are split over whether the $5,000 device is effective. Some experts believe the brain wave monitor is another machine that will be used to defend against anesthesia awareness malpractice suits.
This medical device is not the first anesthesiologists have opposed. Back in the 1970s, not everyone agreed with the pulse oximeter until it was realized that the use of them cut down on malpractice litigation by providing measure of a patient's blood oxygen. With the effects of anesthesia awareness, and the publicity the subject has recently received, the brainwave sensor could become the next standard in anesthesiology. But just because a medical device becomes a standard does not necessarily mean it is effective. Although the fetal heart monitor was introduced in the 1970s to cut down on birth injuries by alerting doctors to fetal distress in time to remove the baby by C-section, later research showed the device doesn't reduce the incidence of cerebral palsy.
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