• Seohee Lee, Jin Young Sohn, In Eob Hwang, Ho-Jin Lee, Susie Yoon, BahkJae-HyonJHDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea., and Bo Rim Kim.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
• Br J Anaesth. 2023 Apr 1; 130 (4): 439445439-445.

BackgroundAn orientation strategy providing repeated verbal reminders of time, place, and person has been widely used for the non-pharmacological management of delirium. We hypothesised that using this strategy could reduce emergence agitation and improve recovery profiles.MethodsThis prospective observer-blinded RCT included male and female patients aged 18-70 yr undergoing minimally invasive abdominal surgery. During emergence from general anaesthesia, subjects in the orientation group (n=57) were provided a repeated reminder, including orientation: '(Patient's name), you are now recovering from general anaesthesia after surgery at Seoul National University Hospital, open your eyes!' via noise-cancelling headphones, whereas those in the control group (n=57) only heard their name: '(Patient's name), open your eyes!'. The primary outcome was the incidence of emergence agitation (Riker sedation agitation scale [SAS] ≥5). The incidence of dangerous agitation (SAS=7), maximal SAS score in the operating room, and recovery profile until 24 h postoperatively were evaluated as secondary outcomes.ResultsThe incidence of emergence agitation in the operating room was significantly lower in the orientation group than in the control group (16/57 [28.1%] vs 38/57 [66.7%]; relative risk [95% confidence interval], 0.5 [0.3-0.7]; P<0.001). The incidence of dangerous agitation (0 [0.0%] vs 10 [17.5%], P=0.001) and the median maximal SAS score (4 [4-5] vs 5 [4-6], P<0.001) were also lower in the orientation group. Secondary outcomes, other than agitation-related variables, were comparable between the two groups.ConclusionsRepeated verbal stimulation of orientation may serve as a simple and easily applicable strategy to reduce emergence agitation after general anaesthesia.Clinical Trial RegistrationNCT05105178.Copyright © 2022 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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