Delirium predicts function in elderly after aortic valve surgery

(HealthDay)—Delirium appears to predict reduced functioning in elderly individuals after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), according to a study published online April 23 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Leslie S.P. Eide, from the University of Bergen in Norway, and colleagues assessed 136 individuals aged 80 years and older undergoing elective SAVR or TAVI. The Confusion Assessment Method was used to assess delirium for five days.

The researchers found that at one month post-SAVR, participants had lower instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) scores than at baseline (P ≤ 0.02), but scores returned to baseline levels at six months. At six-month follow-up, the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) Physical Component Summary score was higher than at baseline, particularly in participants who did not develop delirium (P < 0.001). Regression models showed that delirium may predict IADL disability at one-month follow-up (P ≤ 0.07) but does not predict large differences in ADL disability, cognitive function, or SF-12 scores. Greater ADL and IADL disability at one-month, but not at six-month, follow-up was predicted by delirium after TAVI.

"Individuals who develop delirium after SAVR and TAVI have poorer short-term IADL function but do not seem to have long-term reductions in physical, mental, or self-reported health," the authors write.