Comprehensive geriatric assessment for predicting postoperative delirium in oral and maxillofacial surgery: a prospective cohort study

Abstract Identifying high-risk patients for developing postoperative delirium (POD) is essential for optimizing the medical field’s human and financial resources through specialty-relevant geriatric assessments that can aid in establishing prehabilitation strategies. This study aims to identify geriatric screening tools to predict preoperative delirium and explore the high-risk elderly patients undergoing oral maxillofacial surgery. A comprehensive geriatric assessment encompassing 23 instruments was used to evaluate inpatients undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia, preoperatively and postoperatively. Selective intraoperative and postoperative variables were also assessed for their relation to POD occurrence. This prospective study included 90 patients (mean age 79.0 years) from August 2022 to August 2023. The POD rate in this cohort was (8.9% n = 8). The Clock-Drawing Test (CDT) was significantly associated with POD occurrence (p = 0.005). Significant associations were found between POD occurrence and operation type (p = 0.018), duration (p = 0.026), length of stay ( p = 0.002), and postoperative hemoglobin levels (p = 0.027). This study highlights the importance of comprehensive geriatric assessments in predicting POD in elderly patients. Future research should build on these findings to enhance preoperative care strategies and improve outcomes. Trial registration: German Register of Clinical Studies, DRKSID DRKS00028614.