Does postoperative delirium following elective noncardiac surgery predict long-term mortality?

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Surgical Outcomes
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Postoperative delirium is a common complication in older surgical patients.
• The long-term impact of delirium on mortality remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if incident postoperative delirium is associated with increased 5-year mortality risk in older adults undergoing elective surgery.
• To control for known covariates of mortality in this analysis.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study.
• Inclusion of patients aged 65 years and older undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery.
• Assessment of delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) and 5-year mortality from the National Death Index.

Main Results:

• Postoperative delirium occurred in 25% of patients.
• Older age was significantly associated with increased 5-year mortality.
• After adjusting for covariates, postoperative delirium was not significantly associated with 5-year mortality (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.85-1.65).

Conclusions:

• Delirium was not independently associated with 5-year mortality in this cohort.
• Preoperative risk factors for mortality must be considered when evaluating the long-term effects of delirium.