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PET‐CT analysis of cererbral glucose metabolism in patients with post‐operative cognitive dysfunction
Author(s) -
Herter Jan Michael,
Brenscheid Niko,
Nienhaus Lydia,
Dieterich Charlotte,
Van Aken Hugo,
Weckesser Matthias,
Stubbe Henning Dirk
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.873.20
Subject(s) - postoperative cognitive dysfunction , medicine , perioperative , dementia , incidence (geometry) , cognitive decline , complication , disease , pathophysiology , anesthesia , cognitive impairment , population , surgery , cognition , psychiatry , physics , environmental health , optics
Post‐operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a perioperative complication with a reported incidence of approx. 25% among the elderly in non‐cardiac surgery. Several studies have revealed that patients with POCD have a poorer prognosis compared to control groups. However, the pathophysiology of POCD remains elusive. Recent reports have postulated a common disease mechanism for POCD and Alzheimer's disease. We conducted a clinical study to assess POCD incidence among elderly patients (>;70 yrs.) undergoing major non‐cardiac surgery (>;2h) under general or combined anesthesia and stratify for risk factors. Initially, 87 patients were included and tested preoperatively. However, 23 patients refused postoperative retesting or revealed preexisting dementia and were thus excluded. In the POCD positive study population (n=20, 31%), 10 patients underwent PET‐CT analysis as part of the clinical workup to assess postoperative cognitive decline. We here report that 7 of these patients revealed significant cerebral glucose metabolism impairment, 3 of which resembled a pattern typically seen in neurodegenerative disease. POCD may thus result from alterations in brain metabolism.