Recovery from general anesthesia: a simple and comprehensive test for assessment.

A procedure of totaling the value of coins of different denominations has been evaluated as a simple test for assessing recovery from general anesthesia. The procedure required the patient to pick up speedily seven coins of small denominations one after the other, name the value of each coin as it was picked up, add its value to that of the previous ones and obtain the cumulative total of the seven coins. The test simultaneously assesses return of sensory perception, acuity of vision, ability to quickly change eye fixation, fine muscle coordination, higher intellectual faculties required for mathematical performance, sustained concentration, and word naming.

Awareness during anaesthesia. A prospective study.

One hundred and thirty-eight patients were anaesthetized using a nitrous-oxide-oxygen technique with neuromuscular blockage under standard conditions. None showed any evidence of awareness during the course of anaesthesia, irrespective of the type of premedication used.