Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction: Minding the Gaps in Our Knowledge of a Common Postoperative Complication in the Elderly.

Journal Article (Journal Article;Review)

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication associated with significant morbidity and mortality in elderly patients. There is much interest in and controversy about POCD, reflected partly in the increasing number of articles published on POCD recently. Recent work suggests surgery may also be associated with cognitive improvement in some patients, termed postoperative cognitive improvement (POCI). As the number of surgeries performed worldwide approaches 250 million per year, optimizing postoperative cognitive function and preventing/treating POCD are major public health issues. In this article, we review the literature on POCD and POCI, and discuss current research challenges in this area.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Berger, M; Nadler, JW; Browndyke, J; Terrando, N; Ponnusamy, V; Cohen, HJ; Whitson, HE; Mathew, JP

Published Date

  • September 2015

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 33 / 3

Start / End Page

  • 517 - 550

PubMed ID

  • 26315636

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC4555995

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1932-2275

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.anclin.2015.05.008

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • United States