Clinical study of postoperative delirium in head and neck cancer with reconstructive surgery

Abstract

Purpose: We detected factors related to the development of postoperative delirium in reconstructive surgery patients with head and neck cancer.
Subjects and Methods: 150 patients who underwent reconstruction surgery between January 2011 and June 2012 (108 males, 42 females, median age 65 years old) were studied retrospectively. The diagnosis of postoperative delirium was confirmed by a psychiatrist.
Results: Postoperative delirium developed in 13 (8.7%) of the 150 patients. Developmental period averaged 7.6 days postoperatively. The mean duration was 17.8 days. Predictors for development of postoperative delirium were age over 75 years at the time of surgery (p < 0.01) and ASA > 3 (P = 0.04) in clinical factors.
Conclusion: Having age and ASA as predictors, future studies for preventing the onset of postoperative delirium are necessary.