Affective functioning after delirium in elderly hip fracture patients

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Delirium in elderly patients can lead to long-term cognitive impairment and affective disturbances.
• Affective sequelae of delirium, particularly in older adults, remain understudied.
• Hip fracture surgery is a common procedure in elderly patients, often associated with increased risk of delirium.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between in-hospital delirium and long-term affective functioning in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery.
• To compare baseline characteristics and affective functioning between patients with and without in-hospital delirium.
• To determine if in-hospital delirium is linked to increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, and PTSD three months post-discharge.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study of elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery.
• Preoperative assessment of baseline characteristics, cognitive, and affective functioning.
• Daily assessment for delirium during hospital admission and follow-up evaluation of affective and cognitive functioning three months post-discharge.

Main Results:

• 43.4% of patients experienced in-hospital delirium after hip fracture repair.
• Patients with in-hospital delirium exhibited significantly more depressive symptoms at three-month follow-up.
• No significant differences in anxiety or PTSD symptoms were observed between groups at follow-up.

Conclusions:

• In-hospital delirium is associated with a greater burden of depressive symptoms in elderly hip fracture patients three months after discharge.
• The increased depressive symptoms are not solely explained by persistent delirium or baseline cognitive impairment.
• This study underscores the importance of addressing affective sequelae in elderly patients following delirium.