'Where there's smoke': longitudinal cognitive disintegration after postoperative delirium?

Elie Matar; Robert D Sanders

doi:10.1016/j.bja.2023.02.025

'Where there's smoke': longitudinal cognitive disintegration after postoperative delirium?

Br J Anaesth. 2023 Jul;131(1):1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.02.025. Epub 2023 Mar 27.

Authors

Elie Matar¹, Robert D Sanders²

Affiliations

¹ Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Forefront Research Team, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Department of Anaesthetics and Institute of Academic Surgery, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 36990826
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.02.025

Abstract

Postoperative delirium is an important complication of surgery and is associated with poor long-term cognitive outcomes, although the neural basis underlying this relationship is poorly understood. Neuroimaging studies and network-based approaches play an important role in our understanding of the mechanism by which delirium relates to longitudinal cognitive decline. A recent resting state functional MRI study is reviewed, which shows reduced global connectivity up to 3 months after delirium, supporting recent models of delirium and opening the door for applying this approach to understanding the complex inter-relationship between delirium and dementia.

Keywords: cognitive dysfunction; delirium; dementia; functional connectivity; functional magnetic resonance imaging; global connectivity.

Publication types

Editorial
Comment

MeSH terms

Cognition
Cognitive Dysfunction* / etiology
Delirium*
Emergence Delirium*
Humans
Neuroimaging
Postoperative Complications