surgery: Patients with preexisting cognitive impairment undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia.
norma: Cognitively normal individuals who do not undergo surgery but complete the same cognitive assessments at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months for normative reference.
Study summary
This study aims to find out how often memory and thinking problems happen after surgery in people who already have memory issues before their operation. These memory problems are called postoperative cognitive decline (POCD). Older adults with memory problems before surgery may be more likely to have trouble with thinking, memory, and daily activities after their operation. This study will follow patients who already have memory problems before surgery and see how their thinking and memory change after surgery. The results will help doctors better understand how to care for these patients before, during, and after surgery.
Eligibility
Sex
ALL
Min age
60 Years
Max age
—
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
1. Preexisting Cognitive Impairment (PreCI) Surgical Group
Inclusion Criteria:
* Age ≥ 60 years
* Preoperative screening with MMSE and MoCA-B indicating mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia
* Undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia
Exclusion Criteria:
* Expected difficulty in completing neuropsychological assessments (e.g., inability to communicate in Mandarin, blindness, or deafness)
* Usual residence outside Shenzhen
2. Normative Reference Group
Inclusion Criteria:
* Age ≥ 60 years
* No history of general anesthesia surgery within the past 12 months
* Mini-Cog score \> 1
Exclusion Criteria:
* Planned elective surgery under general anesthesia within the next 12 months
* History of suspected or diagnosed cognitive impairment, or screening indicating cognitive impairment using MMSE and MoCA-B
* Expected difficulty in completing neuropsychological assessments (e.g., inability to communicate in Mandarin, blindness, or deafness)
* Usual residence outside Shenzhen
Primary outcome measure(s)
Incidence of Postoperative Cognitive Decline (POCD) at 3 Months — 3 months after surgery The primary outcome is the incidence of objectively measurable postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) at 3 months in patients with preexisting cognitive impairment undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia. The diagnosis of POCD will follow the nomenclature recommendations by Evered et al., which define POCD as cognitive decline occurring between 3 months and 7.5 years after surgery, determined by standardized score changes compared with a normative reference population.
In this study, POCD will be identified using the Reliable Change Index (RCI), calculated as:
RCI = (ΔX\_patient - Δμ\_normative) / σ\_normative
A patient will be diagnosed with POCD if:
At least two cognitive domains show an RCI ≤ -1.96, or
The combined Z-score of all cognitive tests is ≤ -1.96.
Trial sites (1)
Facility
City
Region
Status
Peking University Shenzhen Hospital
Shenzhen
Guangdong
Recruiting
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This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
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