Patient Information
Patient Education Site
The CSA wishes to help its patients learn what anesthesiologists actually do so that they can know what to expect under the anesthesiologists’ care and can participate in their own care.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists
To obtain this information, visit the ASA Web Site and explore the patient education site. As the ASA states, “Anesthesiologists are considered the medical experts in patient safety before, during and following surgical and diagnostic procedures.”
The ASA Patient Awareness brochure explains the anesthesiologists’ ongoing effort to deal with the very rare condition of unintended patient awareness under general anesthesia. However, this is only one of many brochures that can give you important information about anesthesiologists and anesthesia.
In addition to the brochure, the ASA has recently posted a video about patient awareness on the its Web site. This is an excellent video, and we recommend that everyone view it.
CSA News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - SAN MATEO, CA – NOVEMBER 20, 2007
Anesthesiologists Correct a Public Misperception
The California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) wants to calm unnecessary anxiety of patients by educating the public on the issue of “intraoperative awareness” in a straightforward manner. CSA expresses deep concern for the few patients who, out of the hundreds of thousands of surgeries performed each year, experience unintended awareness under general anesthesia. While such awareness is an extremely rare event, it is currently an area of discussion and concern in the public arena. Anesthesia performed by a qualified physician—an anesthesiologist—continues to be one of the safest medical procedures known.
It is commonplace in contemporary anesthetic practice to employ a variety of techniques using regional nerve blocks and sedation that are not intended to make the patient unconscious. Patients often do not make a distinction between these techniques and general anesthesia, yet depending on the type of anesthetic, awareness is often expected and normal. Yet, patients might misunderstand that their “awareness” during surgery was expected, normal, and gave their anesthesiologist a direct monitor of the patient’s state of well being because they could talk to the patient during the surgery.
The recently stated statistic of one case of unintended awareness per 700, in promotional media releases, is not supported by scientific studies of this rare occurrence, and is misleading to the public. The inclusion of varieties of patient awareness including recollection during the act of being anesthetized, waking up after surgery and dreamlike experiences further confuses and frightens the public.
Hollywood dramatizes and exploits the “awake during surgery” nightmare—as it does exploding volcanoes destroying Los Angeles or asteroids crashing into the earth—rare and hypothetical events used to captivate audiences and entice the public to see their thrilling movies.
Research in anesthesia continues to improve the application of neuro-monitoring technology, although none is yet 100 percent reliable, and to develop ever better and safer anesthetic agents. The California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) is dedicated to promoting the highest standards of the medical profession of anesthesiology by fostering excellence through continuing medical education and serving as an advocate for patient safety.
California Society of Anesthesiologists, www.csa.org
Andrea de la Pena, andreadlp@csahq.org, (650) 345-5207, or
Michael Whitelock, mwhitelock@csahq.org, (650) 345-5251
The 2006 CSA House of Delegates adopted the following:
CSA Statement on Intraoperative Awareness
The CSA expresses its concern for any patient who experiences awareness under general anesthesia. While such awareness is a rare event, it is an area of discussion in the public arena. It is the intent of the CSA to educate and inform our patients and the public on the issue of intraoperative awareness in a straightforward manner.
Anesthesiologists are trained to minimize the occurrence of awareness under general anesthesia. It is recognized that on rare occasions, usually associated with a patient’s critical condition, this may be unavoidable. Furthermore, it is commonplace in contemporary anesthetic practice to employ a variety of techniques using regional nerve blocks and varying degrees of sedation. Patients often do not make a distinction between these techniques and general anesthesia, yet awareness is often expected and anticipated with the former. This may have led to a misunderstanding of “awareness” during surgery by many patients.
Anesthesia Risk Assessment
You can also take the Anesthesia Risk Assessment that Drs. Lynnus Peng and John MacCarthy have developed. This tool can help you determine what you should ask your anesthesiologist before your surgery. You can access the assessment here.
The CSA, like the ASA, is an advocate for all patients who require anesthesia or relief from pain. Patients who need ongoing care for pain management can view a list of CSA member physicians who specialize in pain medicine under “Find a Pain Physician.”
Educación pública: La anestesia y usted...
(Se reimprimió con la autorización de: Sociedad Texas de Anestesiólogos y Sociedad Americana de Anestesiólogos)In addition, the CSA has obtained permission from the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists and the ASA to reprint several of the patient education papers that have been prepared in Spanish. You may access these papers below.
