[Doczilla]

A summary on the above quoted study from ACEP News.

Study suggests BIS monitoring may be no better than older technology in preventing anesthesia awareness.
The AP (3/13, Johnson) reports that bispectral index (BIS) monitoring, which is used to "prevent anesthesia awareness," may be "no better than older technology," according to a study published in the March 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. For the study, lead researcher Dr. Michael Avidan, division chief of cardiothoracic anesthesia and cardiothoracic intensive care at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues "compared two groups of about 1,000 patients each, all deemed at high risk of waking up during surgery because of health conditions, medication or other factors."
One group was "assigned to BIS-guided anesthesia," while the other group was assigned to receive "conventional anesthesia," according to HealthDay (3/12, Gardner). The researchers found that "[t]wo patients experienced definite anesthesia awareness in each group." Furthermore, "[f]ive...patients (four in the BIS group and one in the control group) had possible awareness."
The researchers said, "Reliance on bispectral index system technology may provide patients and healthcare practitioners with a false sense of security about the reduction in the risk of anesthesia awareness," added MedPage Today (3/12, Gever). The results of the new study "contradict those of two earlier studies supported by Aspect Medical Systems, the manufacturer of the bispectral index monitoring system." In those trials, there were "major reductions in rates of awareness when anesthesia dosing was pegged to system readouts during surgery." The company's "literature says its monitor is now used in 60 percent of operating rooms in the United States."
In an accompanying editorial, Beverley A. Orser, M.D., Ph.D., professor of anesthesia and physiology at the University of Toronto, "says she is not surprised that the BIS monitor was no better than enhanced anesthesia monitoring at preventing waking during surgery," according to WebMD (3/12, DeNoon). Dr. Orser said, "I question the ability of this device to prevent anesthesia awareness because I don't think it is targeting the areas of the brain responsible for this activity."

'zilla