Improved Screening for Post-op Delirium Holds Promise

[Abhila]

A new screening method could help identify older people at increased risk for delirium after surgery, a significant and even life-shortening complication in this population. Older adults face delirium after surgery more than younger people, causing them distress and potentially hastening their death. Better screening of patients most likely to experience the condition is needed, according to researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), who describe their new approach in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[Jaya]

@abhila A more accurate assessment of a patient's cognitive impairment prior to surgery could change practice patterns, according to Barreto Chang. She might counsel patients to forego elective surgeries if they have an elevated delirium risk, she said, or forgo certain medications such as benzodiazepines before surgery, which are known to increase the risk of delirium.