Association between preoperative depressive symptoms and postoperative cognitive dysfunction in patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia

• Grant number: 11/22478-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Maria José Carvalho Carmona
• Grantee: Letícia Maria de Araújo de Souza
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Among the many factors that relate to the occurrence and level of postoperative cognitive dysfunction, we find depression. Depression can occur before, during, or after a surgical event, and depending on the moment it occurs it might refer to different causes and consequences. Little is known about this association, what makes relevant this research. This study aims to investigate the associations between postoperative cognitive dysfunction and the presence of depressive symptoms. Materials and methods: With the approval of the institutional ethics committee, 75 patients over the age of 60 years undergoing noncardiac surgery under general anesthesia will be evaluated. Tests of quality of life, depressive symptoms and a neuropsychological battery to assess general mental status, attention and perception, memory and executive skills will be performed. This battery defines the cognitive stability index, which is a longitudinal measure of the cognitive status in repeated assessments that detect mood and cognition changes. These evaluations will be performed before surgery, and on the 3rd, 7th, 21st, 90th, and 180th postoperative days. The collected data will be analyzed using analysis of variance for repeated measures for the parametric data or Mann-Whitney for the nonparametric. The association between the occurrence of preoperative depressive symptoms and POCD will be evaluated by the chi-square test, considering significant p<0.05. The results will be submitted for publication in an appropriate scientific journal. AU)