Accidental awareness is one of the most feared complications of general anesthesia for both patients and anesthetists.
Patients report this failure of general anesthesia in approximately 1 in every 19,000 cases, according to a recently published report. However, the incidence may approach 1% in patients at high risk.
Public awareness of the possibility of conscious awareness under anesthesia is increasing in recent years. It is also important to differentiate it from dreams, hallucinations or false claims. Here we present a discussion on the factors causing awareness under anesthesia, strategies to avoid this complication and also cautions every healthcare provider in the Operating room to be cautious regarding the possibility of unintended awareness.