Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical Study

BackgroundAn aging population in combination with more gentle and less stressful surgical procedures leads to an increased number of operations on older patients. This collectively raises novel challenges due to higher age heavily impacting treatment. A major problem, emergin...

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Main Authors: Henriette Louise Möllmann, Eman Alhammadi, Soufian Boulghoudan, Julian Kuhlmann, Anica Mevissen, Philipp Olbrich, Louisa Rahm, Helmut Frohnhofen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-01-01
Series:JMIR Research Protocols
Online Access:https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e59203
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author Henriette Louise Möllmann
Eman Alhammadi
Soufian Boulghoudan
Julian Kuhlmann
Anica Mevissen
Philipp Olbrich
Louisa Rahm
Helmut Frohnhofen
author_facet Henriette Louise Möllmann
Eman Alhammadi
Soufian Boulghoudan
Julian Kuhlmann
Anica Mevissen
Philipp Olbrich
Louisa Rahm
Helmut Frohnhofen
author_sort Henriette Louise Möllmann
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundAn aging population in combination with more gentle and less stressful surgical procedures leads to an increased number of operations on older patients. This collectively raises novel challenges due to higher age heavily impacting treatment. A major problem, emerging in up to 50% of cases, is perioperative delirium. It is thus vital to understand whether and which existing geriatric assessments are capable of reliably identifying risk factors, how high the incidence of delirium is, and whether the resulting management of these risk factors might lead to a reduced incidence of delirium. ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the frequency and severity of geriatric medical problems in elective patients of the Clinics of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Vascular Surgery, and Orthopedics, General Surgery, and Trauma Surgery, revealing associations with the incidence of perioperative delirium regarding potential risk factors, and recording the long-term effects of geriatric problems and any perioperative delirium that might have developed later the patient’s life. MethodsWe performed both pre- and postoperative assessments in patients of 4 different surgical departments who are older than 70 years. Patient-validated screening instruments will be used to identify risk factors. A geriatric assessment with the content of basal and instrumental activities of daily living (basal activities of daily living [Katz index], instrumental activities of daily living [Lawton and Brody score], cognition [6-item screener and clock drawing test], mobility [de Morton Mobility Index and Sit-to-Stand test], sleep [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Insomnia Severity Index/STOP-BANG], drug therapy [polypharmacy and quality of medication, Fit For The Aged classification, and anticholinergic burden score], and pain assessment and delirium risk (Delirium Risk Assessment Tool) will be performed. Any medical problems detected will be treated according to current standards, and no intervention is planned as part of the study. In addition, a telephone follow-up will be performed 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. ResultsRecruitment started in August 2022, with 421 patients already recruited at the time of submission. Initial analyses of the data are to be published at the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025. ConclusionsIn the current study, we investigate whether the risk factors addressed in the assessment are associated with an increase in the delirium rate. The aim is then to reduce this comprehensive assessment to the central aspects to be able to conduct targeted and efficient risk screening. Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trials Registry DRKS00028614; https://www.drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00028614 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/59203
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spelling doaj-art-e6f5df8853fe4974a1132dc3e6462a632025-01-22T16:30:33ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482025-01-0114e5920310.2196/59203Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical StudyHenriette Louise Möllmannhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1040-8814Eman Alhammadihttps://orcid.org/0009-0007-5567-4263Soufian Boulghoudanhttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-9879-9610Julian Kuhlmannhttps://orcid.org/0009-0009-3897-6635Anica Mevissenhttps://orcid.org/0009-0002-1799-8041Philipp Olbrichhttps://orcid.org/0009-0002-5773-0269Louisa Rahmhttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-7672-2622Helmut Frohnhofenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6989-4044 BackgroundAn aging population in combination with more gentle and less stressful surgical procedures leads to an increased number of operations on older patients. This collectively raises novel challenges due to higher age heavily impacting treatment. A major problem, emerging in up to 50% of cases, is perioperative delirium. It is thus vital to understand whether and which existing geriatric assessments are capable of reliably identifying risk factors, how high the incidence of delirium is, and whether the resulting management of these risk factors might lead to a reduced incidence of delirium. ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the frequency and severity of geriatric medical problems in elective patients of the Clinics of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Vascular Surgery, and Orthopedics, General Surgery, and Trauma Surgery, revealing associations with the incidence of perioperative delirium regarding potential risk factors, and recording the long-term effects of geriatric problems and any perioperative delirium that might have developed later the patient’s life. MethodsWe performed both pre- and postoperative assessments in patients of 4 different surgical departments who are older than 70 years. Patient-validated screening instruments will be used to identify risk factors. A geriatric assessment with the content of basal and instrumental activities of daily living (basal activities of daily living [Katz index], instrumental activities of daily living [Lawton and Brody score], cognition [6-item screener and clock drawing test], mobility [de Morton Mobility Index and Sit-to-Stand test], sleep [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Insomnia Severity Index/STOP-BANG], drug therapy [polypharmacy and quality of medication, Fit For The Aged classification, and anticholinergic burden score], and pain assessment and delirium risk (Delirium Risk Assessment Tool) will be performed. Any medical problems detected will be treated according to current standards, and no intervention is planned as part of the study. In addition, a telephone follow-up will be performed 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. ResultsRecruitment started in August 2022, with 421 patients already recruited at the time of submission. Initial analyses of the data are to be published at the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025. ConclusionsIn the current study, we investigate whether the risk factors addressed in the assessment are associated with an increase in the delirium rate. The aim is then to reduce this comprehensive assessment to the central aspects to be able to conduct targeted and efficient risk screening. Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trials Registry DRKS00028614; https://www.drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00028614 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/59203https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e59203
spellingShingle Henriette Louise Möllmann
Eman Alhammadi
Soufian Boulghoudan
Julian Kuhlmann
Anica Mevissen
Philipp Olbrich
Louisa Rahm
Helmut Frohnhofen
Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical Study
JMIR Research Protocols
title Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical Study
title_full Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical Study
title_fullStr Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical Study
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical Study
title_short Assessment of Geriatric Problems and Risk Factors for Delirium in Surgical Medicine: Protocol for Multidisciplinary Prospective Clinical Study
title_sort assessment of geriatric problems and risk factors for delirium in surgical medicine protocol for multidisciplinary prospective clinical study
url https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e59203
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