Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Effect of general and sub-arachnoid anesthesia on the incidence of postoperative delirium and cognitive impairments in elderly Chinese patients

Wei-Xia Ren, Ran-Ran Wu

Department of Anesthesiology, Suzhou Ninth People's Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou 215200, Jiangsu, China;

For correspondence:- Ran-Ran Wu Email:

Accepted: 22 January 2021 Published: 28 February 2021

Citation: Ren W, Wu R. Effect of general and sub-arachnoid anesthesia on the incidence of postoperative delirium and cognitive impairments in elderly Chinese patients. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(2):433-439 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i2.30

© 2021 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of general and subarachnoid (spinal) anesthesia on the incidence of postoperative delirium and cognitive impairments in elderly Chinese patients.

Methods: Elderly Chinese patients (n = 281) aged 65 – 79 years (mean age = 74.12 ± 4.15 years) who underwent proximal femoral fracture surgery were recruited over a 1-year period for this study. The patients were evaluated using neuropsychological assessment battery (NAB) 24 h before surgery, and on the first day 1 month after surgery. Data on activity of daily living (ADL) (in this case toileting at the time of discharge) were recorded and analyzed.

Results: There was no significant difference in the number of patients that developed postoperative delirium between the two anesthesia groups (p > 0.05). Although the trail making test (TMT) scores (parts A and B) were increased on the first day 1 month after surgery, there were no significant differences in NAB results between the two groups (p > 0.05). Patients who received subarachnoid (spinal) anesthesia had significantly higher dependency for toileting at the time of discharge than those who received general anesthesia (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: These results show that general and subarachnoid (spinal) anesthesia do not cause postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction in elderly Chinese patients who underwent proximal femoral fracture surgery.

Keywords: Anesthesia, Cognitive function, Delirium, Elderly patients, Surgery