Parimol Kishore Dev1, Smita Roy2, Muhammad Enayeth Karim3, Amit Chandra Dey4
1. Associate Professor, Department of Anaesthesia, Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital. Sylhet.
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, North East Medical College Hospital, Sylhet.
3. Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital, Sylhet.
4. Assistant Professor. Department of Otalaryngology & HNS, Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital, Sylhet.
Abstract
Awareness during surgical procedures, defined as a patient’s conscious perception of events while under anesthesia or sedation, is a significant and distressing phenomenon. It represents a preventable complication that can lead to severe psychological consequences for patients. This study aims to explore the incidence of awareness during surgical procedures and its associated psychological sequelae. This study utilized a cross sectional design to investigate the incidence and psychological impact of awareness during surgical procedures. The study was conducted at the Department of Anesthesia Analgesia and Intensive Care Medicine in Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital, Sylhet from July 2022 to July 2023. A total of 108 patients were included in this study. Data were analyzed by SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 20.0. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 In this study found that 9.3% of patients experienced awareness during medical procedures, with 3.7% reporting medication errors, 2.8% surgical errors, and 0.9% communication issues. Psychological impacts included 47.2% reporting anxiety, 34.3% experiencing depression, and 14.8% showing PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms. Significant associations were found between awareness and higher rates of anxiety (70.0% vs. 45.9%) and depression (60.0% vs. 31.6%). Inadequate communication was a major contributing factor, noted in 50.0% of awareness incidents. This study highlights the profound psychological impact of awareness incidents during perioperative procedures emphasizing that such preventable complications can significantly contribute to anxiety, depression, and PTSD among patients. Perioperative counseling is much more effective and helpful for patient outcome; this study will help the necessity of awareness to prevent such complications.
Key Words: Awareness, Anxiety, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder