Influence of Post-anesthesia Care Unit Delirium After Radical Prostatectomy on Self-reported Cognitive Function and Health-related Quality of Life

Neurocognitive disorders including postoperative delirium are a serious complication after surgery and anesthesia in the elderly. Postoperative delirium is an acute-onset diffuse brain dysfunction that is characterized by a fluctuating course of confusion, disorganized thinking, inattention, irritability, disturbances of the circadian rhythm, and disorders of consciousness. Post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) delirium occurs immediately after emergence from anesthesia and affects up to 45% of patients after elective surgery.

It is unclear, whether PACU delirium is associated with intermediated or long-term adverse outcomes including neurocognitive disorders or mortality. The aim of this prospective observational was to assess self-reported cognitive function and health-related quality of life in patients with and without PACU delirium three months after radical prostatectomy.