Postoperative cognitive dysfunction following general anaesthesia in patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery

Objective: To determine frequency of early postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in patients aged 40 to 60 years, following general anaesthesia in patients undergoing elective, non-cardiac surgery. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anaesthesiology, The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, from December 2015 to May 2016. Methodology: After obtaining approval from Ethical Review Committee of AKUH and informed consent, ASA I and II patients, aged between 40 to 60 years of either gender, undergoing general anaesthesia for elective non-cardiac surgical procedures, were recruited. Patients were assessed preoperatively by using mini-mental state examination (MMSE); and patients having a score equal to or greater than 23 (maximum 30) were included in the study. All patients were reassessed at 24 hours postoperatively by MMSE. Both the MMSE evaluations were performed by primary investigator on predesigned data collection form. Results: A total of 150 patients were enrolled in the study. Preoperative MMSE score ranged from 24 to 30 while postoperative MMSE score (at 24 hours) was between 25 and 30. Thus, no patient developed POCD following general anaesthesia for elective, non-cardiac surgery in this study. Conclusion: Early POCD was not found in the presently studied population of middle aged patients having elective non-cardiac surgery under general anaesthesia.