CRNA Career and Resource Center

Little is known about postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD,) a condition that affects anywhere from 25 to 59 percent of older patients undergoing certain procedures and affects multiple areas of the brain including memory, learning, as well as using multistep actions. Researchers are still determining what it are its effects are, who suffers the most, how long it will last and why only some patients develop the condition. Some researchers believe it may be caused by the stress of surgery and not by the anesthesia used during procedures. One study is underway as a doctor puts patients under general anesthesia but does not perform any operations or procedures to monitor the occurrence and effects of POCD after.

View the complete article here.