Post-Op Delirium in Seniors Causes Longer Hospital Stays, Higher Costs

A study in JAMA Network Open found older adults who develop post-surgical brain dysfunction spend more time in the hospital and are less likely to be sent home, reports United Press International . The researchers looked at data on nearly 2.4 million Medicare beneficiaries who had surgery between January 2013 and December 2016, average age 75 years. Slightly less than 45,000 were diagnosed with post-operative neurocognitive dysfunction (PND), and those with the condition remained hospitalized for an average of about six days — two more than those without the complication. Only 22 percent of those with PND were sent home following recovery, versus 40 percent of those without PND. Ten percent of those with PND patients died within one year of surgery, compared to 4.4 percent of those without PND. Seniors who have delirium during recovery from an operation are hospitalized for up to two days longer and, when they are sent home, up to 78 percent are sent to a rehabilitation or skilled nursing community. This can lead to more than $17,000 in extra healthcare costs. "Many factors drive this, including older age, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer health, risk factors not amenable to quick change," explained Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's M. Dustin Boone.