Correlation Analysis of POD and pNCD in Elderly Patients With Gastrointestinal Neoplasms

The purpose of this study is to explore the differences of serum indicators between elderly gastrointestinal neoplasms patients with postoperative delirium (POD) who either develop or do not develop long-term postoperative neurocognitive disorders (pNCD).

Elderly gastrointestinal neoplasms patients aged 65 and above, undergoing surgical operations at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, were selected. The serum indicators of all patients were measured before surgery, and neurocognitive function of all patients was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) within 1 week before surgery. General patient data such as sex, age, comorbidities, BMI, ASA classification, and MoCA scores were collected. Under routine anesthetic management of the Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Operations at Xuanwu Hospital, endotracheal intubation general anesthesia was performed. Intraoperative monitoring included heart rate, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, and body temperature, with surgery and anesthesia times, and fluid balance recorded. The serum indicators of all patients were measured after surgery. Within 7 days post-surgery, delirium assessment was conducted using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), classifying patients into POD and non-POD groups. For the patients in the POD group, neurocognitive function was assessed at a period of time after surgery to determine the presence of pNCD, further dividing the POD group into pNCD and non-pNCD subgroups. The correlation between POD and pNCD was explored by comparing the changes of serum indicators before and after surgery in the pNCD and non-pNCD subgroups.