Objective: To investigate the incidence of awareness during general anesthesia and analyze the risk factors in anesthetic practice and patient populations.
Methods: A total of 2 300 patients who underwent general anesthesia were included. Perioperative data and anesthetic drugs were collected prospectively. Patients were interviewed twice postoperatively with the same structured questionnaire. Each patient was classified into categories as no awareness, possible awareness, and awareness.
Results: Twenty-one patients (0.91%) definitely reported awareness, and another 205 (8.91%) reported possible awareness. Few of the patients with awareness required psychological intervention. ASA physical status III-IV and propofol maintenance were associated risk factors of awareness.
Conclusion: The incidence of intraoperative awareness is high in the clinical practice in major medical centers.