A Clinical Trial of a Novel Electroencephalography Device as a Predictor of Postoperative Delirium

Postoperative delirium is a public health and research priority. The International Perioperative Neurotoxicity Working Group recommends baseline cognitive function be assessed for older patients prior to surgery and anesthesia. Perioperative cognitive screening tools trialed in anesthesia are not routinely incorporated into clinical practice related to validity, reliability, or practicality concerns. The ideal perioperative cognitive screening tool would be rapid; easily administrable; valid; reliable; automatically scored; void of language, cultural, and education bias; and cost-efficient. No such tool currently exists. We explored baseline and postoperative neurocognitive characteristics that may help to establish predictive and trend metrics for perioperative neurocognitive assessment in older surgical patients using a novel, Food and Drug Administration-cleared point-of-care electroencephalography device (WAViMed™, Boulder, CO). To our knowledge, our study is the first to assess the device as a perioperative neurocognitive assessment tool. Although an association between P300 auditory-evoked potentials and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores was not identified, further investigation is warranted given the magnitude of impact that such a device might have on patient outcomes and healthcare costs.