Post-Operative Cognitive Dysfunction Significantly More Likely With Diabetes

Patients with diabetes have an 84% higher risk for post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), according to a recent study presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting.

In their study, the researchers analyzed data from 1034 patients with completed follow-up assessments involved in the OCTOPUS, DECs, and SuDoCo randomized controlled trials. Associations between diabetes and the risk of POCD were assessed using logistic regression models and risk estimates were pooled across studies.
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POCD occurred in 9.4% of patients in SuDoCo at 3 months. At 12 months, 5.2% of patients experienced POCD in DECS and 32.1% of patients experienced POCD in OCTOPUS.

After the researchers adjusted for age, sex, surgery type, randomization, obesity, and hypertension, they found that diabetes was associated with a 1.84-fold increased risk for POCD.

“These findings suggest that consideration of diabetes status may be helpful for assessment of POCD risk among patients undergoing surgery,” the researchers concluded. “Further studies are warranted to examine potential mechanisms of this association.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Lachmann G, Feinkohl I, Borchers F, et al. Diabetes increases the risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction: cohort analysis of three clinical trials. Presented at: American Society of Anesthesiologists 2017 annual meeting; October 21-25, 2017; Boston, MA. A1083.