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Manual of Geriatric Anesthesia pp 325–337Cite as

Postoperative Central Nervous System Changes in Elderly Surgical Patients

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Abstract

It has been clear since early in the history of modern anesthesia, and for some time in the much longer history of surgery, that patients have cognitive and behavioral changes following surgery. With the advent of ever safer anesthesia care, mortality has declined. In this milieu, two major trends are notable. The first is that increasing numbers of elderly patients are undergoing both elective and emergent surgery. While elective surgery for patients over 50 was considered risky 70 years ago, patients over 100 are routinely electing to have surgical treatments. This trend is clearly supported by the demographics of western societies, where the average longevity has exceeded 75 years of age and the elderly are the fastest growing demographic. Surgical techniques have evolved significantly, providing less invasive means of performing surgical procedures. The second major trend is an evolving sense in the anesthesia community that outcomes other than mortality are important end points. Some of the newest frontiers in the effort to improve anesthesia care include prevention of postoperative neurological complications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1010, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Jeffrey H. Silverstein MD

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  1. Jeffrey H. Silverstein MD
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Correspondence to Jeffrey H. Silverstein MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, 02215, Massachusetts, USA

    Sheila Ryan Barnett

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Silverstein, J.H. (2013). Postoperative Central Nervous System Changes in Elderly Surgical Patients. In: Barnett, S. (eds) Manual of Geriatric Anesthesia. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3888-5_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3888-5_21

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