Solution elusive for awaking in surgery

For many hospitals, the answer to "anesthesia awareness" is to use a brain monitor so doctors can give more drugs to patients who seem to be awaking. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, however, found the monitor might not reduce this risk at all. The manufacturer of that brain-monitoring technology has disputed the researchers' interpretation, and anesthesiology chiefs at three Philadelphia-area hospitals said the results would not keep them from using the device.