title: Recollections of general anaesthesia: a survey of anaesthesiological practice.
abstract: In order to identify the factors to which patients attach importance when undergoing general anaesthesia, 678 patients were retrospectively asked about their recollections of previous anaesthetics during routine preoperative screening over a period of 14 months. The most frequently mentioned recollections concerned the post-anaesthetic period, followed by recollections of the induction of anaesthesia. From the post-anaesthetic period, nausea/vomiting and drowsiness were most often cited. The number of anaesthetics previously undergone had no influence on the reports of the two most frequently mentioned complaints. The rate of nausea/vomiting in this series was 21.0%. The number of patients reporting nausea/vomiting following an anaesthetic has not changed over the years. The last 250 patients were asked to assess the quality of their anaesthetics on a 5-point scale. More than a quarter of the patients were not satisfied with the anaesthesia. No correlation was found between the assessment of the anaesthesia and complaints about nausea/vomiting and drowsiness. The possible role of psychological factors in the origin of complaints about anaesthesia is discussed.
authors: Department of Anaesthesiology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Moerman
authors: F S
authors: FS
authors: van Dam
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Oosting
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000762:Anesthesia Recovery Period; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000009:adverse effects; D001364:Awareness; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000209:etiology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011229:Preanesthetic Medication; D012737:Sex Factors; D012894:Sleep Stages; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives