Prevention of Early Postoperative Decline (PEaPoD): protocol for a randomized, controlled feasibility trial

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Cardiology
• Neuroscience
• Surgical Outcomes

Background:

• Delirium significantly increases postoperative morbidity and mortality in elderly patients.
• Delirium is linked to long-term cognitive deficits and accelerated cognitive decline.
• Few studies explore proactive, pre-surgery interventions for delirium prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of perioperative neurocognitive training in older cardiac surgery patients.
• To investigate if neurocognitive training can prevent delirium and postoperative cognitive decline (POCD).
• To lay the groundwork for future efficacy studies on this patient-led intervention.

Main Methods:

• The Prevention of Early Postoperative Decline (PEaPoD) study is a randomized controlled trial.
• 45 elderly cardiac surgical patients will be randomized 1:1 to neurocognitive training or usual care.
• Feasibility assessed by recruitment and adherence; secondary outcomes include delirium and POCD incidence.

Main Results:

• This section is not applicable as the abstract describes a feasibility study design and not results.

Conclusions:

• The PEaPoD study is the first to examine perioperative cognitive training for delirium and POCD in cardiac surgery patients.
• Findings will inform the design of future studies on this low-risk, patient-led intervention.
• This research aims to reduce serious postoperative morbidity.