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Health Check: Awake and Anaesthetised

Syringe

25/09/2013

Awake and Anaesthetised

BBC World Service - Health Check, Awake and Anaesthetised

A new survey looking at the number of people who are aware during general anaesthesia

How many people remain aware under anaesthesia? Plus, the health dangers of processing electronic waste and the how levels of antibiotics consumption differ between countries.

Going under anaesthetic is a routine part of many surgeries and operations but what are the chances that it fails, leaving you paralysed but still conscious? A national UK survey questioning anaesthetists and looking at the number of cases in British hospitals has been published in The British Journal of Anaesthesia. Professor Jaideep Pandit, Consultant Anaesthetist at the Oxford University Hospitals, is lead author of the report. He explains the risk is less than we previously thought. 

E-waste: A Modern Health Hazard?
Discarded electronic and electrical equipment is one of the fastest growing sources of waste. Electrical rubbish is often shipped to less developed countries where a growing number of people’s livelihoods depend on dismantling and sorting through the waste for valuable components that can be recycled and sold on. But the process is largely unregulated and there are worries about its safety and health effects. The BBC’s Akwasi Sarpong finds out what the impact is on workers, on an e-waste site in the Ghanaian capital Accra.

Antibiotics Consumption
Antibiotic resistance is a global health problem resulting in more than 25,000 deaths a year. But the consumption levels vary widely from country to country with northern and eastern Europe reporting some of the lowest use, compared to central and southern Europe. In Italy where antibiotic usage is one of the highest in Europe, a local health campaign was implemented to reduce levels. Giulio Formoso, from the Emilio-Romagna Regional Health Agency for Health and Social Care in Bologna, was behind the campaign. He explains whether it worked and why it was different to many campaigns which are designed to lower antibiotic dependence. 

(Photo: A medical staff preparing a syringe. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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