Patient Satisfaction, Postoperative Symptoms, and Peri-anaesthetic Awareness Following General Anaesthesia: A Prospective Observational Study

Abstract

Introduction: General Anaesthesia (GA) is an integral component of modern surgical care, providing unconsciousness, analgesia, and amnesia during operative procedures. Patient satisfaction has emerged as an important indicator of the quality of anaesthetic care, reflecting the overall perioperative experience, including communication, comfort, symptom management, and recovery. Aim: To assess patient satisfaction, postoperative outcomes, and intraoperative awareness following GA among adult patients undergoing surgery. Materials and Methods: This prospective questionnairebased observational study was conducted in the Department of Anaesthesiology at Dr. DY Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra, India, from February 2025 to March 2026. A total of 150 adult patients with American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-III undergoing surgery under GA were enrolled. Patient satisfaction, postoperative symptoms, and awareness were assessed using the Bauer Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire and Modified Brice Questionnaire at 1st, 6th, 12th, and 24th postoperative hours. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics version 27.0. Continuous variables were expressed as Mean±Standard Deviation (SD), categorical variables as frequencies and percentages. Results: A total of 150 patients were included, 84 (56.0%) males and 66 (44.0%) females. Of the procedures, 104 were elective, and 46 were emergency. Most postoperative symptoms were absent or moderate in severity, with only 7 (4.7%) patients reporting severe pain at the surgical site and 10 (6.7%) experiencing severe Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV). Satisfaction with perioperative information, recovery from anaesthesia, pain management, and overall care remained consistently high. Among them, 8 patients (5.3%) reported intraoperative awareness, whereas 141 (94.0%) reported no dreams during anaesthesia. The most common last memory before induction was seeing the operating theatre in 98 patients (65.3%), while the first memory after recovery was being in the recovery room in 62 (41.3%). Pain in 63 patients (42.0%) and anxiety in 48 patients (32.0%) were the most frequently reported concerns. Conclusion: GA was associated with high patient satisfaction, favourable perioperative outcomes, low incidence of awareness, and minimal severe postoperative adverse effects. Effective communication, perioperative management, and symptom control contributed to a positive patient experience.