Psychological consequences of awareness and their treatment

Intraoperative awareness with subsequent recall is a rare but serious complication with an incidence of 0.1–0.2%. In approximately one third of the patients who have experienced awareness, late severe psychiatric sequelae may develop. The psychiatric symptoms in these patients fulfil the diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder. To prevent awareness as a negative outcome after anaesthesia, a thorough perioperative management of anaesthesia is necessary. The definite risk for post traumatic stress disorder following awareness indicates the necessity of postoperative clinical routines to identify awareness patients. The problem must be acknowledged. Professional psychiatric assessment and follow up should constitute standard practice. The treatments of choice are Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Key words: anaesthesia, awareness, post traumatic stress disorder, consciousness, memory, cognitive behavioural treatment, eye movement desensitisation, reprocessing