Objective To explore the relevant risk factors for postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients undergoing radical colon cancer surgery, and provide a basis for formulating postoperative prevention and treatment measures for POD. Methods A total of 128 elderly patients diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent radical colon cancer surgery at Xindu District People’s Hospital in Chengdu from January 2018 to December 2021 were included as the study subjects. Patients were divided into two groups according to the score of Delirium Assessment Scale (4AT Scale). The basic data, main perioperative clinical data and laboratory indicators of the two groups were collected, and univariate and logistic regression analysis were carried out to determine the potential risk factors of POD in elderly patients with colon cancer after radical operation. Results According to the results of the 4AT scale score, a total score of ≥4 points was used as the threshold for determining patient POD. Among 128 patients, there were 29 patients (22.66%) with POD and 99 patients (77.34%) without POD. ① General data comparison: There was no significant difference between the two groups in gender, body mass index, years of education, hypertension, diabetes, smoking history and drinking history (P>0.05), but there was significant difference in age, preoperative mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade (P<0.05). ② Comparison of main clinical data during the perioperative period: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups of patients in ICU treatment, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment, visual analogue scale, and intraoperative hypotension (P>0.05), but there was a statistically significant difference in operative time, anesthesia time, intraoperative blood loss, and dexmedetomidine treatment (P<0.05). ③ Comparison of preoperative laboratory indicators: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups of patients in terms of hemoglobin, serum albumin, white blood cell count, prognostic nutritional index, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, D-dimer, and albumin to fibrinogen ratio (P>0.05). ④ The results of logistic regression analysis showed that low preoperative MMSE score [OR=0.397, 95%CI (0.234, 0.673)], long surgical time [OR=1.159, 95%CI (1.059, 1.267) ], and long anesthesia time [OR=1.138, 95%CI (1.057, 1.226) ] were independent risk factors for the occurrence of POD in elderly colon cancer patients undergoing radical surgery. Conclusion Preoperative MMSE score, operative time, and anesthesia time are closely related to the occurrence of POD in elderly colon cancer radical surgery, worth implementing key perioperative management in clinical practice to prevent and manage POD.

Citation： LIU Chunlan, CHEN Tao, LIU Lili, DAI Xin, HUANG Dongmei. Analysis of related factors of postoperative delirium in elderly colon cancer patients undergoing radical surgery. CHINESE JOURNAL OF BASES AND CLINICS IN GENERAL SURGERY, 2024, 31(6): 733-738. doi: 10.7507/1007-9424.202312038 Copy