Emergence Agitation with Earthquake-Related Traumatic Stress Symptoms After Intravenous Sedation

Sedation with intravenous anesthetics is a sedation method that is often preferred during minor surgical procedures for anxious patients. Among the anesthetic agents used are drugs such as midazolam and ketamine, which can cause psychiatric symptoms such as loss of control over the behavior of the person (disinhibition) or dissociation. In people with high anxiety levels, a paradoxical rise of anxiety may rarely occur with midazolam, and emergence agitation or delirium may occur after anesthesia with ketamine. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a known risk factor for emergence agitation. Accompanying traumatic stress symptoms are reported to have persisted for a long time in the case reports of emergence agitation with a past history of trauma. It is aimed to discuss the importance of traumatic stress symptoms in sedation management in the post-earthquake period by presenting a case with increased anxiety and emergence agitation with acute stress symptoms such as re-experiencing the earthquake after sedation with intravenous anesthetics for a local surgical procedure immediately after experiencing the Kahramanmaraş earthquake on February 6 in Turkey. Keywords: Earthquakes, intravenous anesthetics, emergence, psychomotor agitation, acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder.