Clinical literature on postoperative delirium and neurocognitive disorders: a historical systematic review

Gianluca Villa; Lorenzo Foti; Tessa Piazzini; Gaetano Russo; Marin Verrengia; Corinne Sangermano; Federico Bilotta; Stefano Romagnoli

doi:10.1186/s44158-022-00039-6

Clinical literature on postoperative delirium and neurocognitive disorders: a historical systematic review

J Anesth Analg Crit Care. 2022 Mar 3;2(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s44158-022-00039-6.

Authors

Gianluca Villa¹, Lorenzo Foti^{2

3}, Tessa Piazzini^{2

3}, Gaetano Russo⁴, Marin Verrengia⁴, Corinne Sangermano⁴, Federico Bilotta⁴, Stefano Romagnoli^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Science Section of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. gianluca.villa@unifi.it.
² Department of Health Science Section of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
³ Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Policlinico Umberto I, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Background: Since the appearance of the first report on postoperative cognitive impairment in 1955, the number of papers focusing on perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) has constantly increased, both in the field of basic science and clinical research. A critical comprehensive review may explore the perception of how noteworthy PND is for physicians and clinical researchers. The aim of this systematic review is to describe how the clinical papers published to date with PND as primary or secondary outcome have changed over time in terms of editorial characteristics.

Results: A literature search was performed on PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, up to March 2021. Human prospective or retrospective clinical studies in which incidence, risk factors, treatments, or outcomes associated with PND are described among primary or secondary outcomes were included. A total of 2109 articles were considered.

Conclusions: The bibliometric analysis suggests a stable increase in attention towards PND, particularly in general surgery adult-elderly patients, and underlines the importance for the clinicians not to underestimate this specific field.

Keywords: Neurocognitive disorders; Outcome; Postoperative delirium; Surgery.