American Geriatrics Society Releases Clinical Practice Guideline for Postoperative Delirium in Older

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has released a Clinical Practice Guideline for Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults, designed to enable healthcare professionals and hospital systems to implement actionable, evidence-based measures to prevent and treat this life-threatening problem, the most common postoperative complication in older adults.

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has released a Clinical Practice Guideline for Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults, designed to enable healthcare professionals and hospital systems to implement actionable, evidence-based measures to prevent and treat this life-threatening problem, the most common postoperative complication in older adults.

According to Andrew G. Lee, MD, chair of the AGS Section for Surgical and Related Medical Specialists, “Delirium is among the most common post-operative complications for older adults undergoing surgery. It is upsetting for patients and families, and can be harmful if not recognized and treated. Studies have shown that delirium can be prevented in up to 40% of cases in some hospitalized older adult populations. We believe that surgical and related medical specialists, together with the multi-disciplinary members of their teams, can play an integral role in prevention.”

The new guideline offers a framework that will enable hospital systems and health care professionals to implement actionable, evidence-based measures to improve delirium prevention and treatment. As a prelude to the release, expert panel co-chairs Sharon Inouye, MD, MPH, and Thomas Robinson, MD, along with panel members Mark Katlic, MD, Jacqueline Leung, MD, MPH, and Sanjay Mohanty, MD, presented the guideline recommendations at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2014 Clinical Congress last month.

A panel of multi-specialty, multi-disciplinary experts developed the guideline, which was funded through a grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation in support of the AGS Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative (GSI).

In early December, a guideline summary will be available online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS). A companion Best Practices Statement is now available through open access on the American College of Surgeons website, and will be published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons in early 2015. Several companion public education materials are available on HealthinAging.org, including a delirium tip sheet for family caregivers, available in English and Spanish, a chapter on delirium, and an Ask the Expert Q&A. The tip sheets are also available on GeriatricsCareOnline.org, where you can personalize them with your practice information.

To read the full press release, head over to the AGS website.

The full Clinical Practice Guideline for Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults can be found here.