OAA Large Project Grant

St George's University Hospital, London

Title
Patient Reported awareness in OBstEtrics (PROBE): prospective evaluation of accidental awareness under general anaesthesia in obstetrics patients

Amount
£29,757

Scientific Abstract
Patient Reported awareness in OBstEtrics (PROBE) is a prospective, observational multi-centre cohort study involving administration of a modified Brice questionnaire to obstetric general anaesthesia (GA) patients. The 5th UK National Audit Project (NAP5) highlighted obstetric GA patients as being at disproportionately high risk of spontaneously reported accidental awareness under GA (AAGA) (~1:670 vs. ~1:19,000 in the overall surgical population). Whereas the incidence of Brice-positive AAGA in the general population of surgical patients is well established at ~1:600, the incidence of Brice-positive reporting in the obstetric population is unclear. It is unknown if the disparity between Brice-positive and spontaneous reporting (1:600 vs. 1:19,000) is mirrored in obstetric patients, who might therefore be expected to exhibit a Brice-positive incidence as high as 1:19; or if Brice-positive reporting becomes maximal at ~1:600, regardless of population characteristics. Secondly, we wish to detail the experiences of all AAGA obstetric patients through structured follow-up and evaluation of later psychological distress. Hospitals across London will collaborate to collect data through the Pan London Perioperative Audit and Research Network (PLAN). Brice questionnaires will be administered on three incidences over 30 days following GA for obstetric indication surgery, with structured follow up for 12 months after the index procedure.