Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Long-term and pre-operative benzodiazepine use in older adults and risk for postoperative delirium: An additional analysis of the multicentre Biomarker Development for Postoperative Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly Study
Authors' conclusion
Long-term use of benzodiazepines is associated with the development of POD, but short-term use as a premedicant is not.
Study context
- Population
- Older adults undergoing elective surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany) and University Hospital Utrecht (Netherlands), October 2014 to September 2019analysed
- Participants
- 928 adults
- Comparison
- Long-term benzodiazepine use and benzodiazepine premedication vs no use
- Primary endpoint
- Development of POD and cognition (association with benzodiazepine use)
Methodological detailsmulticentre, two-centre
- Multicentre
- Two-centre
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
POD
- Long-term benzodiazepine use significantly associated with risk of postoperative delirium (POD), independent of sex
- P < 0.001
- Benzodiazepine premedication immediately before surgery not associated with risk of POD
- P = 0.242
Further findings
POD by sex
- Males and females developed POD at similar rates
Original publication
Long-term and pre-operative benzodiazepine use in older adults and risk for postoperative delirium: An additional analysis of the multicentre Biomarker Development for Postoperative Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly Study. Eur J Anaesthesiol. Published 16 May 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →