MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Avidan
Michael Avidan, MBBCh, FCA SA
Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology
Chief of the Division of Clinical and Translational Research
Director of the Infrastructure of Quality Improvement, Research and Informatics
Washington University School of Medicine
St Louis, MO
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Postoperative delirium, a temporary state of confusion and inattention, is common in older adults after major surgery. Delirium can be distressing to patients, family members and clinicians. It is associated with longer hospital stays, other medical complications, cognitive decline, and death.
Some previous studies have found that using electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring of the brain during general anesthesia decreases the occurrence of delirium following surgery.
Therefore we conducted a rigorous study to determine whether using information from the EEG to guide the safe reduction of inhaled anesthetic drugs would prevent postoperative delirium and improve other outcomes in older adults following major surgery.