Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Postoperative outcomes in older patients with postoperative delirium in the UK: SNAP-3, a snapshot observational study
Authors' conclusion
Delirium, which is common in older people having surgery, negatively impacts on postoperative outcomes
Study context
- Population
- UK patients aged 60 yr and above undergoing surgery (excluding minor procedures) over 5 days in March 2022
- Participants
- 7,128 patients · 214 hospitals
- Exposure
- Postoperative delirium vs no delirium
- Outcome
- Incidence of postoperative delirium
Methodological detailssnapshot, multicentre
- Snapshot
- Multicentre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incidence of delirium (479/7128)
6.7%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Increase in median LOS (days) (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital LOSDelirium vs No delirium · adjusted (quantile regression) | 5.2 (3.8–6.5) | |
| −50510Difference, days (linear scale) |
| Outcome | aOR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Postoperative morbidityDelirium vs No delirium | 10.2 (7.4–13.9) | |
| Mortality · 120 daysDelirium vs No delirium | 1.8 (1.2–2.6) | |
| Mortality · 1 yrDelirium vs No delirium | 2.0 (1.5–2.7) | |
| 0.050.21520Adjusted odds ratio (log scale) |
Sensitivity analysis excluding lower-risk daycase patients
- Similar results to the main analysis
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Postoperative outcomes in older patients with postoperative delirium in the UK: SNAP-3, a snapshot observational study. Br J Anaesth. Published 26 February 2026. doi:10.
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