JCAHO Raises Concerns About Patient Awareness During Surgery

JCAHO Raises Concerns About Patient Awareness During Surgery

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is calling “anesthesia awareness” a problem and has made recommendations to prevent patients from regaining consciousness during surgery.

Working with the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the JCAHO asked surgeons “to be more diligent in the operating room” or use brain monitors. Before surgery, patients should be alerted to the possibility of waking from anesthesia be asked about their awareness during surgery, the JCAHO said in a notice to the 4,579 hospitals it accredits.

It’s estimated that as many as 100 patients a day regain consciousness during surgery, with 48% hearing operating room conversations, 48% having the feeling they can’t breathe, and 28% experiencing pain, according to a recent study in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia.