RISK FACTORS AND INCIDENCE FOR INTRA OPERATIVE AWARENESS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIAC SURGERY

Abstract

Objective:Is to analyze the incidence of intraoperative awareness in patients undergoing cardiac
surgery in addition to evaluate possible contributing factors. Patients and Methods:This was an open
cross sectional study conducted in Queen Alia Heart Institute between January 2010 to April 2010 on
498 patients consecutively underwent cardiac surgery during this period. Patients enrolled in the study
were interviewed 2 – 3 days post surgery by specialized team consisted from anesthetist and surgeon
who were involved in the surgery, every report about patients awareness was assessed thoroughly later
on. Results: The incidence of awareness in patients underwent cardiac surgery was 6.2% (32 patients
out of 498 experienced some sort of awareness). Most of the cases of awareness occurred during
cardiopulmonary bypass, especially during rewarming, followed in frequency by the period of
induction. It was found that length at surgery > 4 hr and total pump time > 90 minutes ,low EF < 20%
were strong significant risk factors for intraoperative awareness. Conclusion: The incidence of
awareness is quite high during cardiac surgery in Jordan; therefore by identifying possible contributing
factors, we can deal with this problem accordingly.
Keywords: Intraoperative awareness, cardiac anesthesia.