Cognitive Training to Prevent Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Older Patients - A Randomised Controlled Trial
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Terminated
- Sponsor
- University of Malaya
- Enrollment
- 17
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Postoperative cognitive dysfunction
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD) is a state of decline in cognitive ability after surgery and is frequently seen among our elderly population. Many studies have looked into predictive risk factors for POCD while research is underway to search for pre-emptive measures to avoid this unfavourable outcome. Most will be looking at utilizing mobile software applications of cognitive training but in many poorer countries, owning electronic devices may not be an option or may be culturally less acceptable among the older patients. Hence, the investigators intend to investigate if a home-based logbook for cognitive training will reduce the incidence of POCD in a single centre study.
Detailed Description
Background:
Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD) is a state in which a decline in cognitive ability after surgery persist from early postoperative period to a much longer term. It is said to be a subtle disorder of thought processes that influences domains of cognition such as memory especially short-term memory, inattention and inability to focus with the presence of generalized slowness. In fact, a lot of older patients and their loved ones claim they are 'never the same' after the surgery. It is to be distinguished from postoperative delirium, a diagnosis portrayed through several symptoms that occurs acutely after surgery, fluctuates with time and has a tendency to be transient. POCD, on the other hand, is difficult to diagnose and only detected by comparing postoperative results of neuropsychological battery tests to those done as baseline preoperatively.
Advanced age is a major risk for developing POCD.6 Studies done by the International Study of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (ISPOCD) group had found an incidence of POCD at 19.2% within 1 week and 6.2% in 3 months. Similar studies have reported a higher figure of 36.1% at 1 week after surgery for this phenomenon. In certain high-risk groups, the range ascends to 16 - 62% with an average of 35% in hip fracture patients9 and up to 60% for those who underwent cardiac surgery that persist in 10-30% after 6 months.
Hypothesis:
As far as research is concerned, tremendous efforts are now underway to look for causes of POCD and its risk factors but most importantly, find ways to avoid this disability over time. Clinicians instinctively prescribe prehabilitation in preparation for surgery through various physical conditioning to improve patients' physiological cardio-respiratory reserve in the hope for better recovery. The investigators hypothesize that the same holds true with cognitive function and by optimizing mental 'fitness', the pre-conditioning can attribute to a decrease in POCD.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- Double (Care Provider, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking Description
The attending anaesthetist and assessors will be blinded
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 65 Years to — (Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Aged 65 years of age or older, ASA I-III
- •Elective surgery (excluding neuro and cardiac surgery)
- •Date of surgery at least 10 days and up to one month from date of recruitment
- •Duration from induction of anaesthesia to end of anaesthesia minimum 2 hours
- •Expected post-operative hospital stay at least 48 hours
- •Able and willing to give informed consent
- •Willing to undergo cognitive and delirium assessments, perform daily cognitive training and able to return for follow-up assessments at 1 week, 3 months (phone call) and 1 year.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Glasgow coma scale < 15
- •Geriatric depression score (GDS-5) ≥ 2
- •Pre-existing psychiatric disorder or delirium
- •Severe visual, hearing or speech impairment
- •General anaesthetic within the last 6 months
Arms & Interventions
Control
Preoperative counselling will be given upon recruitment Patients will be given instructions to continue their normal routine.
Cognitive Training
Preoperative counselling will be given upon recruitment Patients are taught cognitive training and are asked to perform a prescribed set of one-hour cognitive training daily for a minimum of 10 days and up to 1 month prior to surgery.
Intervention: Cognitive training (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction
Time Frame: One year after surgery
Any patient having deficit in 2 or more neuropsychological tests will be deemed to have POCD. A deficit in any test will be defined as a negative difference in scores and if the absolute value of each of these change scores is larger than one standard deviation (SD) of the baseline in the same cognitive test from all subjects. Any patient having deficit in 2 or more neuropsychological tests.
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction
Time Frame: One week after surgery
Any patient having deficit in 2 or more neuropsychological tests will be deemed to have POCD. A deficit in any test will be defined as a negative difference in scores and if the absolute value of each of these change scores is larger than one standard deviation (SD) of the baseline in the same cognitive test from all subjects. Any patient having deficit in 2 or more neuropsychological tests.
Secondary Outcomes
- Identify the association between duration of anaesthesia with developing POCD(One week and 1 year after surgery)
- Duration of home based cognitive training to prevent POCD(One week and 1 year after surgery)
- Identify age as a risk factor for developing POCD(One week and 1 year after surgery)
- Identify the association between types of surgery performed with developing POCD(One week and 1 year after surgery)
- Correlation between delirium and POCD(Post-op Day 1 to 3)
Investigators
Dr Loh Pui San
Clinical Lecturer
University of Malaya