Always educate
We're on a mission to educate our patients and help them get back to
their pre-surgery lives as soon as possible. Working at a surgical facili-
ty, you play a critical role in giving patients and their families guid-
ance about what to expect after surgery.
Anything you can do to reduce the risk of post-op delirium and cognitive
disorders in your older patients will have a direct impact on our health-
care system by reducing readmissions, medication errors and other prob-
lems that arise when patients' post-op complications go undiagnosed.
OSM
Dr. Fleisher (lee.fleisher@uphs.upenn.edu) is chair of the American Society
of Anesthesia's ad hoc committee on Brain Health Initiative
(asahq.org/brainhealthinitiative) and chair of anesthesiology and critical
care at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in
Philadelphia, Pa.
M A Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 2 7
1. Conduct a pre-surgery cognitive test. The physician can use the
results as a baseline for comparison after surgery.
2. Be sure a caregiver, family member or friend stays or can visit
with the patient during recovery, carefully observing physical
and mental activity after surgery.
3. Patients should check with the physician before taking medica-
tions after surgery that can affect their nervous system, such as
those for anxiety, seizures, muscle spasms or sleep difficulties.
4. Make hearing aids or glasses available as soon as possible
after the procedure.
5. Make a room with a window available for recovery, so patients
can tell whether it's day or night. Providing patients with per-
sonal items, such as family photos, will help to reorient them.
SOURCE: American Society of Anesthesiologists
5 Tips to Prevent Confusion in Older Patients
PREVENTABLE DAZE
