Risk factors for postoperative delirium in elderly urological patients: A meta-analysis

Avoiding postoperative delirium (POD) can have a significant detrimental effect on the rehabilitation and prognosis of elderly urological patients. It is necessary to explore the risk factors associated with POD in elderly urology to provide a basis for clinical recognition of delirium.

For relevant studies, we comprehensively searched Embase, MEDLINE, Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The search deadline was September 2021.

We identified 2046 studies, 8 of which were included in the ultimate analysis. A total of 8 articles, including 356 cases in the delirium group and 1813 cases in the non-delirium group, were included in the relevant literature. The 2 groups mentioned above differed significantly in the following factors: history of delirium (odds ratio [OR] = 6.98, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.63-29.86, P = .009); Preoperative use of psychotropic drugs (OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.11-3.52, P = .02); age (OR = 3.10, 95% CI: 2.08-4.12, P < .0001). The meta-analysis demonstrated that smoking, alcohol consumption, gender (male), mode of anesthesia (general anesthesia) and being unmarried did not have a significant effect on POD in elderly urological patients.

The risk factors for POD in elderly urological patients include history of delirium, preoperative use of psychotropic drugs, and age. The present study provides guidance for taking targeted preventive measures to reduce risks.