Neuropsychology review
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Neuropsychology review · Mar 2002
ReviewPostoperative cognitive dysfunction versus complaints: a discrepancy in long-term findings.
This review describes the discrepancy in findings between postoperative cognitive performance and postoperative cognitive complaints long time after an operation under general anesthesia. Shortly (from 6 hr to 1 week) after an operation a decline in cognitive performance is reported in most studies. However, long time (from 3 weeks to 1-2 years) after an operation this is rarely found although some patients are still reporting cognitive complaints. ⋯ Thus, there are patients who have persistent cognitive complaints long time after an operation, that cannot be measured with cognitive tests. More psychological factors such as fixation on short-term cognitive dysfunction, mood, coping style, and personality are possible explanations for these cognitive complaints in the long term. As a consequence, these factors should be a topic in future research elucidating the persistence of these cognitive complaints long time after an operation under general anesthesia.