Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Interventions to prevent postoperative neurocognitive complications: an umbrella review of meta‐analyses of randomised controlled trials
Authors' conclusion
A number of peri-operative interventions are associated with a reduction in postoperative neurocognitive complications but the certainty of evidence supporting these interventions to prevent is very low.
Study context
- Population
- Adult surgical populations114 systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- Participants
- 250,777 participants
- Comparison
- Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for prevention of postoperative neurocognitive complications
- Outcome
- Incidence of peri-operative neurocognitive complications
Methodological detailsGRADE certainty assessment, AMSTAR quality appraisal, Ioannidis classification, Databases searched from inception to 23 August 2025
- GRADE certainty assessment
- AMSTAR quality appraisal
- Ioannidis classification
- Databases searched from inception to 23 August 2025
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Postoperative neurocognitive complications
- Dexmedetomidine, cerebral monitoring, acupuncture, sleep interventions, steroids, antipsychotics, peripheral nerve blocks, esketamine and remimazolam associated with reductions
- Overall certainty of evidence for all these interventions predominantly very low
Further pooled results
Postoperative neurocognitive complications by surgery type (subgroup)
- Potential benefits across non-cardiac, orthopaedic and cardiac surgery
Original publication
Interventions to prevent postoperative neurocognitive complications: an umbrella review of meta‐analyses of randomised controlled trials. Anaesthesia. Published 17 November 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →