In their article “ASA Perioperative Brain Health Initiative: Engaging Others and Closing the Gap,” Drs. Peden and Fleisher share with us an update on the ASA Perioperative Brain Health Initiative (PBHI). They mention that, in patients older than 65 years of age, delirium is the most common postoperative complication. Delirium is part of the spectrum of perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND), which also includes postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). PND can occur in younger patients as well, and it is often mediated by medications that we may use in the O.R.
Twenty-two years ago, at the age of 37, your editor was skiing in Whistler, British Columbia. On those slopes, my skis became crossed in an icy section of snow, and my right knee was hyperextended when the binding on my right boot did not release. Needless to say, my right anterior cruciate ligament was torn in two. One of my colleagues...
