Summary
Neuropsychiatric dysfunction occurring after open-heart surgery is usually considered to be related to intraoperative events.
A case history is presented which suggests that marked changes in neuropsychiatric function can occur in the immediate postoperative period with a history and time course which is incompatible with a direct intraoperative cause. The evidence from psychometric testing indicated a disturbance of delayed memory recall which would suggest an organic basis for the symptoms. Analysis of the records of a group of patients who were studied in detail with pre- and postoperative interviewing, identified a significant incidence of changes suggestive of organic neuropsychiatrie dysfunction occurring remote from the immediate operative period.
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© 1982 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Bethune, D.W. (1982). Focal Neurological Lesions and Diffuse Organic Brain Damage in Open-Heart Surgery Patients. In: Becker, R., Katz, J.M., Polonius, MJ., Speidel, H. (eds) Psychopathological and Neurological Dysfunctions Following Open-Heart Surgery. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68610-8_35
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68610-8_35
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-68612-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-68610-8
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