Awareness With Recall: A Systematic Review

This article provides a systematic review of awareness with recall, also called intraoperative awareness. Major topics of this review include the incidence and causes of this phenomenon, in addition to an examination of current strategies for prevention of intraoperative awareness. Awareness with recall creates substantial physical and/or psychological distress for the patient, representing a continued threat to patient safety. Factors related to cases of awareness include those of the patient, surgical procedure, anesthesia provider, and system in which providers deliver care. Anesthesia providers today consider use of electroencephalographic depth-of-anesthesia monitors such as the bispectral index monitor (BIS, Covidien, now Medtronic), as a potential tool for preventing awareness. This Journal course explores evidence related to the utility and limitations of this monitor in clinical practice. It also reviews evidence-based practices that may decrease the incidence of awareness with recall, including avoidance of muscle relaxants and protocol-driven approaches to awareness prevention.