Anaesthetic Considerations in Elderly Patients Undergoing Joint Replacement Surgery: Managing Postoperative Delirium and Cognitive Dysfunction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether DEX, compared with saline, could reduce postoperative cognitive impairment and complications in elderly patients undergoing joint surgery. We have analyzed key demographic and clinical characteristics of total 200 subjects in four groups, (Cognitive Impairment/DEX; Cognitive Impairment/Saline; Control/DEX & Control/Saline) selected via random allocation. Statistical analyses (t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation) identified important variations on surgical outcomes related to anaesthetic drugs administration or CHDs, diabetes mellitus type II and systemic arterial HT. DEX had some positive effect when compared to other studies and this benefited postoperative outcomes whilst increasing cognitive impairment in older people thus highlighting a need for individualized anaesthetic therapy in older patients. This study of the cohort shows that DEX might have some benefits in reducing cognitive decline and improving systemic recovery following surgery.

Keywords: Dexmedetomidine, Cognitive Impairment, Postoperative Outcomes, Elderly Patients, Joint Surgery.