International psychogeriatrics
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Exposure to general anesthesia has been suggested as a possible cause of long-term cognitive impairment in elderly subjects. The present study reviews the literature in this field in order to describe postoperative cognitive impairment in elderly populations, to determine to what extent this may be attributed to anesthetic agents, and to consider evidence of a causal relationship between anesthesia and onset of senile dementia. ⋯ Incidence rates vary widely according to type of surgery, suggesting that factors other than anesthesia explain a significant proportion of the observed variance. Anesthesia appears to be associated with longerterm cognitive disorder and the acceleration of senile dementia, but only in a small number of cases, suggesting the existence of other interacting etiological factors.