Postoperative Delirium after Urological Surgery: A Literature Review

Purpose: We aimed to thoroughly search and identify studies referring to risk factors associated with postoperative delirium (POD) in patients undergoing open as well as en-doscopic urological surgery.

Methods: The review after a systematic literature search included 5 studies.

Results: The incidence of POD was reported to be between 7.8 and 30% depending on the type of the urologic surgery, while in the majority of the studies the onset happened on the first postoperative day and the symptoms lasted 3 ± 0.8 days. Seventeen different risk factors for POD were identified and presented in detail.

Conclusion: The Mini-Mental State Examination score and older age were significantly associated with the development of POD. However, the Confusion Assessment Method is very well validated against the diagnosis of delirium from the specialists.