The study will focus on patients aged 70 and older, as 20-50% of older surgical patients experience delirium following major surgery.
From the Researcher:
It is a major public health issue that older patients who are admitted to the hospital are at risk for delirium and cognitive impairment. We don’t know why this happens or when it’s going to happen — and we don’t currently have any interventions to prevent or treat it. Our goal is to better understand the underlying biology of delirium and related neurocognitive disorders in order to develop safe and effective interventions.
The project aims to:
- Determine whether or not caffeine reduces the risk of postoperative delirium and related complications;
- Identify the underlying cortical dynamics of postoperative delirium; and
- Test the relationship between neural criticality and Mild Cognitive Impairment.
