Association between Baseline Cognitive Score and Postoperative Delirium in Parkinson's Disease Patients following Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery.

Background: Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nuclei (STN-DBS) is a standard treatment option for advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Delirium following DBS electrode implantation is common, by several studies, and cognitive impairment is a risk factor for developing postoperative delirium (POD). This prospective observational study was conducted to identify whether preoperative baseline cognitive status has an association with POD in PD patients undergoing DBS surgery.

Methods: Preoperatively, neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessments of the patients were performed including clinical dementia rating (CDR) score, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) score, mini-mental state exam (MMSE) score, Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) score, Hamilton anxiety (HAMA) and Hamilton depression (HAMD) scores, and numerical cancellation test. POD was identified by the confusion assessment method (CAM) twice per day on postoperative day 1 until discharge.

Results: Twenty-seven (21.6%) of 125 patients developed POD. Among the variables screened, age, CDR score, MMSE score, and HAMA score were indicated to be independent influence factors of POD. The cutoff score, AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of age, CDR score, MMSE score, and HAMA score associated with POD was 58.5, 0.751, 92.6%, 52.0%; 0.5, 0.848, 77.8%, 91.8%; 27.5, 0.827, 88.9%, 62.2%; and 12.5, 0.706, 85.2%, 54.1%, respectively.

Conclusions: We observed age, CDR score, MMSE score, and HAMA score were independent influence factors of POD in PD patients who received DBS. It is necessary to assess the cognitive status of PD patients before surgery to identify high-risk patients.