BACKGROUND General anesthesia (GA) may affect cognitive functions and result in postoperative cognitive dysfunction. The aim of our prospective pilot study was to compare the short-term postoperative cognitive function of unimpaired elderly patients undergoing first versus repeated exposure to GA. METHODS After approval from the Hospital Ethics Committee and informed consent of all participants, 46 patients, 70.1 ± 7.1 years of age, 20 men and 26 women were enrolled in the study. Twenty-five patients belonged to group A (never received GA before) and 21 patients belonged to group B (received at least once GA the last 5 years). Each patient was evaluated preoperatively and the 8th day postoperatively by a blinded examiner with a battery of neurocognitive tests. RESULTS Group B patients performed preoperatively worse in Trail Making Test Part A, Stroop Color and Word Test and Three Words-Three Shapes Test. Postoperatively there were differences in almost every neurocognitive test, with group B patients again achieving the worse scores. This came along with increased Beck Depression Inventory Test score and increased incidence of delirium in Group B patients. CONCLUSION Our pilot study suggests that prior exposure of elderly patients to GA might lead to prolonged cognitive impairment and repeated GA exposure seems to be a potential risk factor for greater short-term postoperative cognitive impairment.
SHORT-TERM POSTOPERATIVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION OF ELDERLY PATIENTS UNDERGOING FIRST VERSUS REPEATED EXPOSURE TO GENERAL ANESTHESIA.