Objective: To compare inhalational induction versus intravenous induction regarding awareness during laryngoscopy and intubation in elderly patients undergoing day case elective surgery.
Awareness during general anesthesia - that has an incidence between 0.1% and 0.9% of cases and may be more in elderly - remains a concern for anesthesiologists. Awareness experiences range from isolated auditory perceptions to reports of a patient being fully awake, immobilized, and in pain. The isolated forearm technique allows assessment of consciousness of the external world (connected consciousness) through a verbal command to move the hand (of a tourniquet-isolated arm) during intended general anesthesia.