Do Obstetric Patients Opt to Undergo General Anaesthesia to Avoid Being Conscious Despite Safer Alternatives?

Abstract

There are various modes of anaesthesia available in the community today. This gives anaesthesiologists the freedom to select those that are safe, efficacious and most suitable for patients. However, patients may not always agree with their anaesthesiologist on the preferred mode of anaesthesia because they may have a different set of priorities, with many of them electing to have the lack of intraoperative awareness as the primary objective. Hence, disagreements between anaesthesiologists and patients may arise and could potentially disrupt doctor-patient relationship. This paper attempts to explore the possible reasons for obstetric patients championing for certain modes of anaesthesia and to provide an insight into the need for adequate patient education. Key words: Ethics, Safety, Informed Consent, Patient Preference, Intraoperative Awareness, Preoperative Anxiety