Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly Patients: Neurological, Psychological, and Functional Implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v4i2.2907Keywords:
Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction, Neuroinflammation, Anxiety, Elderly Patients, Depression, Functional Ability, Anesthesia, Quality of LifeAbstract
This study investigated the neurological, psychological, and functional implications of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD) among elderly patients following surgical procedures. A quantitative descriptive-correlational research design was used, and a total sample of 233 elderly patients aged 60 years and above was selected through purposive sampling from hospital settings. Data were collected using standardized cognitive assessments, psychological scales measuring anxiety and depression, and functional ability measures assessing activities of daily living. It was analyzed using SPSS through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and one way ANOVA. The results showed that POCD was significantly related to neurological factors, such as neuroinflammatory markers (r = .58, p < .001), cerebral hypoperfusion (r =.51, p <.001) and duration of anesthetic exposure (r =.44, p =.001). The psychological factors were also found to be good predictors of POCD (R2 = .41, p <.001) and anxiety (b =.36) was the best predictor by the multiple regression analysis. Besides, the results of ANOVA showed the statistically significant differences of functional ability by the level of POCD ( F = 21.96, p <.001). The findings of the study were that POCD is a complex condition that depends on biological and psychological factors and the functional outcome to elderly individuals is significant and thus, it requires holistic perioperative assessment and intervention measures.
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