Intraoperative memory. A study of his incidence after general anaesthesia in 326 patients.

Objectives: Measuring the incidence of intraoperative recall in our hospita l. Study design: Prospective study. Patients and methods: Three hundred and twenty-six patients who underwent a general anaesthesia for elective surgery on selected sites (general, urolo gy, ORL, gynaecology and obstetrical, vascular and cardiac, thoracic) were interviewed on the first or the second postoperative day using a standard q uestionnary. When recall was suspected, the anaesthetist was consulted and the anaesthetic record was looked at in order to evaluate the authenticity of any recollections. Results: Four patients mentioned an anomaly evoking intra-operative recall. The reduction in the anaesthetic level would explain authentic recollectio n for one patient. The recollection of another patient could not be truly v erified. The site was the same for these two cases and the anaesthetic prot ocol for digestive surgery comprised curare and droperidol. The recollectio ns for the two other patients did not correspond to the intraoperative peri od. The incidence of this phenomenon on the totality of sites was 0.6 per c ent. Conclusion: This result conforms to other studies. This phenomenon is a qua lity indicator, but probably under estimated. Although retrospective, this evaluation is quick and easy. This research in post-operative period should be systematic in order to find the reason and to propose an early course o f action for these patients. An analysis of the anaesthetic protocol is nec essary when the frequency of intraoperative recall is too high. (C) 2001 Ed itions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.