General anaesthesia for obstetric surgery has distinct characteristics that may contribute towards a higher risk of accidental awareness during general anaesthesia. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, experience and psychological implications of unintended conscious awareness during general anaesthesia in obstetric patients. From May 2017 to August 2018, 3115 consenting patients receiving general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery in 72 hospitals in England were recruited to the study. Patients received three repetitions of standardised questioning over 30 days, with responses indicating memories during general anaesthesia that were verified using interviews and record interrogation. A total of 12 patients had certain/ probable or possible awareness, an incidence of 1 in 256 (95%CI 149-500) for all obstetric surgery. The incidence was 1 in 212 (95%CI 122-417) for caesarean section surgery. Distressing experiences were reported by seven (58.3%) patients, paralysis by five (41.7%) and paralysis with pain by two (16.7%). Accidental awareness occurred during induction and emergence in nine (75%) of the patients who reported awareness. Factors associated with accidental awareness during general anaesthesia were: high BMI (25-30 kg.m -2 ); low BMI (<18.5 kg.m -2 ); out-of-hours surgery; and use of ketamine or thiopental for induction. Standardised psychological impact scores at 30 days were significantly higher in awareness patients (median (IQR [range]) 15 (2.7-52.0 [2-56]) than in patients without awareness 3 (1-9 [0-64]), p = 0.010. Four patients had a provisional diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. We conclude that direct postoperative questioning reveals high rates of accidental awareness during general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery, which has implications for anaesthetic practice, consent and follow-up.

Background: Pain is the commonest reason for delayed discharge and readmission post day surgery with up to 45% of patients reported to suffer moderate-to-severe post-surgical pain 24 hours after discharge. The importance of post-surgical pain management extends beyond the acute phase when one considers that all chronic post-surgical pain was once acute. Although much focus is given to perioperative analgesia, a patient's pain management once discharged can be overlooked, whilst at this time the patient's pain management is within their own hands. Methods: We conducted this multisite observational study of adult patients undergoing day case surgery. After obtaining patient consent data was collected on the operation, intra-and postoperative analgesia administered and discharge analgesia prescribed. Patients were then contacted at home by telephone 48 hours after discharge and asked about their postoperative pain and analgesia requirements. Results: Of 150 patients consented for the enrolment, we were able to obtain postoperative analgesia data on 100. A total of 68% of patients reported pain following discharge with 26% reporting severe pain, defined as a pain score of ⩾7. A total 68% of patients were prescribed and dispensed analgesia, and of those, 83% were compliant with their analgesia. Thus, we conclude that in this patient group, the incidence of postoperative pain was not due to lack of patient compliance, but inadequate analgesia prescription. Discussion: We recognise that our data reflect a patient population in North East London but suggest that the results may still be relevant to a wider patient group across the United Kingdom as the incidence of postoperative pain in our study was similar to published figures. Better patient satisfaction with postoperative analgesia may be obtained with more patient-and surgery-specific analgesic prescription.

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