Intraoperative awareness and experience with a ketamine-based anaesthesia package to support emergency and essential surgery when no anaesthetist is available

The objective of this study was to assess intraoperative awareness when the ‘Every Second Matters for Emergency and Essential Surgery – Ketamine’ (ESM-Ketamine) package was used to support emergency and essential surgeries and painful procedures in rural Kenya when no anaesthetist was available.MethodsForty-seven consecutive adult patients that underwent an operative procedure under ESM-Ketamine at Sagam Community Hospital in Luanda, Kenya were enrolled. Participants underwent two semi-structured interviews that explored the patient’s experience with ESM-Ketamine both after the operative procedure and four to six weeks after surgery.ResultsForty-seven participants completed the first interview and 37 (78.7%) the second interview. Thirty-seven (78.7%) cases were procedural sedations and ten were (21.3%) emergency surgeries. Intraoperative awareness occurred in nine (24.3%) participants who underwent procedural sedation and two (20%) who underwent emergency surgery. Twenty-six (55.3%) participants reported dreams during the procedure. Thirty-two (86.5%) participants considered their experience positive, and 35 (95%) would recommend a procedure supported by ketamine to a friend.DiscussionMost patients whose painful procedures and emergency operations were supported by the ESM-Ketamine package when no anaesthetist was available reported favourable experiences.
Source: African Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research