• K Hellwagner, A Holzer, B Gustorff, K Schroegendorfer, M Greher, M Weindlmayr-Goettel, B Saletu, and F X Lackner.
• University of Vienna, Department of Anaesthesia and General Intensive Care (A & B), Vienna, Austria. klaus.hellwagner@univie.ac.at
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2003 Apr 1;20(4):282-8.

Background And ObjectiveWe ascertained whether dreams during short general anaesthesia influence subsequent patient satisfaction and anxiety.MethodsFifty female patients were randomized into two groups to test for a difference between intravenous and inhalational anaesthesias. In Group Propo, anaesthesia was induced and maintained with propofol; in Group Metho-Iso, anaesthesia was induced with methohexital and maintained with isoflurane. Satisfaction and anxiety with anaesthesia were evaluated using a visual analogue scale from 0 to 100. Dream incidence rate, satisfaction and anxiety were assessed from immediately after waking until 3 months later.ResultsSeventeen patients (34%) dreamed during anaesthesia. There were no significant differences in satisfaction or anxiety after anaesthesia between the dreaming and non-dreaming patients (satisfaction, 92.3 +/- 21.6 versus 92.1 +/- 21.6; anxiety, 21.1 +/- 21.1 versus 30.3 +/- 32.1), or between Group Propo and Group Metho-Iso (satisfaction, 94.4 +/- 19.3 versus 90.0 +/- 23.4; anxiety, 26.0 +/- 27.6 versus 28.4 +/- 30.7). There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of dreaming with the type of anaesthesia used (Group Propo, 11 patients; Group Metho-Iso, 6 patients).ConclusionsDreaming during general anaesthesia is common but does not influence satisfaction or anxiety after anaesthesia.

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