Delirium after surgery linked to poorer function a year later
At one year, patients with delirium had disability scores 4.6 points higher than those without delirium, after researchers accounted for other factors.
2,442 participants, multicenter
Limit: Functional assessments excluded 81 patients who died and 462 who did not respond
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
A prospective observational study included 2,442 adults undergoing elective or urgent surgery requiring hospital admission at 43 hospitals in Spain. Researchers assessed delirium, a sudden disturbance in attention and awareness, within 48 hours after surgery. At one year, 1,899 patients completed a telephone questionnaire measuring disability and quality of life.
After accounting for other factors, patients with delirium had disability scores 4.6 points higher than those without it. Delirium was also associated with 2.5 times the odds of institutional care. One-year mortality was 16.7% among patients with delirium versus 3.1% among those without it.
Why it matters
Delirium is a common, serious complication in older surgical patients. The authors said the findings supported prevention strategies and structured long-term follow-up after surgery.
Caveats
This observational study could not establish cause and effect. The one-year functional assessment excluded 81 patients who died and 462 who did not respond, so it did not represent all participants.
- Postoperative delirium
- 4AT
- Confusion Assessment Method
- Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit
- WHODAS 2.0
- Humans
The paper
Postoperative delirium and 1-year functional decline, institutionalization and mortality
University Hospital Infanta Leonor (OdlVM)
European Journal of Anaesthesiology, Oct 20, 2026
