The Thai version of the nursing delirium screening scale-Thai: Adaptation and validation study in postoperative patients

Early postoperative neurocognitive complications in elderly patients: comparing those with and without preexisting mild cognitive impairment- a prospective study

BACKGROUND

As societies age, increasing numbers of older adults undergo surgeries with anesthesia. Postoperative delirium (POD) and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) frequently occur in older surgical patients. Most of these patients already have preoperative mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the correlation between MCI and POD remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the incidence of POD in elderly patients with and without preexisting MCI.

METHODS

A prospective study enrolled patients aged 60 years and above scheduled for major surgeries between December 2017 and April 2022. Preoperative MCI was determined by a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score between 18 and 24. POD was diagnosed using criteria from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). POCD was characterized by a MoCA score reduction of 2 or more points from the preoperative score. The primary outcome was the incidence of POD within the first 72 h postoperatively. Secondary outcomes encompassed other postoperative complications, including POCD.

RESULTS

The study comprised 223 elderly patients with MCI and 56 without MCI. The incidence of POD was 16.6% in the MCI group and 14.3% in the non-MCI group (P = 0.839). POCD occurred in 24.3% of MCI patients and 50% of non-MCI patients (P = 0.001). There were no significant differences in other postoperative complications between the groups. Postoperatively, the MCI group notably declined in visuospatial, attention, and orientation domains, while the non-MCI group declined in all domains except delayed recall.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of POD was similar in the MCI and non-MCI groups. However, the non-MCI group demonstrated a higher incidence of POCD than the MCI group. This was identified by a reduction in postoperative MoCA scores for the visuospatial, naming, attention, language, abstraction, and orientation domains. These findings underscore the importance of postoperative cognitive assessments for both elderly patients with preexisting MCI and those with previously intact cognitive functions.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial was retrospectively registered in the Thai Clinical Trials Registry on 15/01/2019 (registration number: TCTR20190115001).

Validation to Spanish of nursing assessment scale for early diagnosis of delirium - Nu-DESC

Objective

This work aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the Colombian Spanish version of the Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (Nu-DESC).

Methods

A psychometric study was conducted to achieve the goal of this study, which measured face validity, content validity, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of the Nu-DESC.

Results

. Face validity obtained a total Aiken V of 0.89, and content validity showed a modified Lawshe index of 0.92. When Nu-DESC was applied to 210 adult patients hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit, it was found that 14.2% had suspected delirium. The instrument showed a sensitivity of 91.6%, specificity of 95.6%, positive predictive value of 73.3%, negative predictive value of 98.8%, good internal consistency with Cronbach's α of 0.8 and good concordance according to Cohen's Kappa index of 0.788.

Conclusion

The Spanish version of the Nu-DESC scale for Colombia has appropriate psychometric values for assessing delirium risk. In addition, this scale is easy to apply, so the adaptation of nursing personnel for its employability favors routine monitoring and timely detection of delirium.