Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Patient-reported outcomes as drivers of postoperative delirium in the postanaesthesia care unit: Data from a one-year prospective cohort study
Authors' conclusion
Pre-operative anxiety and stress strongly predict PACU POD, supporting early risk stratification and targeted interventions.
Study context
- Population
- Adults undergoing elective or urgent surgery, secondary-care private hospital in Switzerland, after implementation of the Safe Brain Initiative (SBI) care bundle
- Participants
- 1,419 adults
- Outcome
- PACU POD incidence (Nu-DESC at emergence and PACU discharge)
Methodological detailssingle-centre, Jan 2023 to Jan 2024
- Single-centre
- Jan 2023 to Jan 2024
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
PACU POD incidence
Postoperative anaesthesia care unit (PACU) postoperative delirium (POD) occurred in patients
19.6%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
Pre-operative anxiety (NRS > 7) as predictor of POD
- Independent predictor of POD
- P = 0.012
Pre-operative Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs) and postoperative symptoms
- Pre-operative PROMs showed increasing trends, while postoperative symptoms (pain, anxiety, nausea) significantly decreased
Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) in patients with POD
- Lower well being scores despite high satisfaction in other PREM domains
Original publication
Patient-reported outcomes as drivers of postoperative delirium in the postanaesthesia care unit: Data from a one-year prospective cohort study. Eur J Anaesthesiol. Published 21 August 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →