Delirium-biomarkers and genetic variance

Hemoglobin level, degree of mobilization, and pneumonia are associated with the development of postoperative delirium in cemented hemiarthroplasty after femoral neck fracture

PURPOSE

The aim of this retrospective study was to identify independent prognostic factors for developing a postoperative delirium (POD) in patients suffering from a proximal femoral neck fracture and treated by implantation of a hemiprosthesis.

METHODS

A retrospective study, including patients with hip hemiarthroplasty due to a femoral neck fracture between 2011 and 2020 was performed. Demographic data, preexisting conditions, intra-/postoperative complications, mobilization and laboratory results were extracted from the patients' charts. The different parameters were analyzed comparing patients with and without POD.

RESULTS

412 patients, mean age of 81 ± 9.58 years were included, 66.5% (n = 274) were female, 18.2% (n = 75) of them developed a POD. Significantly higher incidence of POD was associated with older age (p < 0.001), lower level of haemoglobin (p < 0.001), higher post-surgery interleukin 6 (IL 6) level (p = 0.008), higher postoperative level of leukocytes (p = 0.01). Patients with POD received more units of packed red blood cells (PRBC) (p = 0.007). Patients with no mobility limitations pre-operatively developed POD less frequently (p = 0.01), whereas suffering from pneumonia (p = 0.03) or limited mobility postoperatively increased the risk of POD (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study could help to identify patients with a risk for developing POD after a hemiarthroplasty in femoral neck fractures. As a consequence, frequent controls of Hb, IL 6 and leucocytes levels to avoid anemia and infections, as well as the well surgical treatment to guarantee a good postoperative outcome.

Alterations in Neurotrophins in Alcohol-Addicted Patients during Alcohol Withdrawal

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is related to mental and somatic disorders that result in alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), with 30% of AWS cases leading to life-threatening delirium tremens (DTs). Currently, studies do not support using any one biomarker in DTs. Neurotrophins affect neuromodulation, playing a role in the pathogenesis of AUD, AWS, and DTs.

METHODS

This review aims to summarize experimental and clinical data related to neurotrophins and S100B in neuroplasticity, as well as neurodegeneration in the context of AUD, AWS, and DTs. This work used publications that were selected based on the protocol consistent with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement.

RESULTS

The BDNF level could be a good candidate biomarker for relapse susceptibility, as it is significantly reduced during consumption and gradually increases during abstinence. GDNF influences AUD through its integral role in the function of dopaminergic neurons and ablates the return to alcohol-drinking behavior. NGF protects neurons from ethanol-induced cytotoxic damage and affects recovery from cognitive deficits after brain damage. The NT-3 level is decreased after alcohol exposure and is involved in compensatory mechanisms for cognitive decline in AUD. NT-4 affects oxidative stress, which is associated with chronic alcohol consumption. S100B is used as a biomarker of brain damage, with elevated levels in serum in AUD, and can protect 5-HT neurons from the damage caused by alcohol.

CONCLUSIONS

BDNF, GDNF, NT-3, NT-4, NGF, and S100B may be valuable markers for withdrawal syndrome. In particular, the most relevant is their association with the development of delirium complications. However, there are few data concerning some neurotrophins in AWS and DTs, suggesting the need for further research.

Peripheral cholinesterase activity is not correlated with postoperative delirium in urological surgery

The value of biomarkers, such as acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, for guiding perioperative patients suffering from postoperative delirium and/or (possibly related) postoperative cognitive dysfunction is unclear. Only recently have different biomarkers are being explored to assess postoperative delirium's occurrence and/or course. The aim of this work is to investigate whether acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase can help detect increased risks of the development and course of postoperative delirium in urological patients undergoing surgery. In total, 45 urology patients were screened. During five perioperative time points (meaning preoperative and postoperative), acetylcholinesterase or butyrylcholinesterase concentrations from serum were correlated with three perioperative postoperative delirium and two perioperative postoperative cognitive dysfunction investigations. Results showed neither a significant decline of either acetylcholinesterase or butyrylcholinesterase concentration before and after surgery, nor a significant correlation with postoperative delirium. Furthermore, significant postoperative cognitive dysfunction could not be detected in this perioperative urological collective.

The Usefulness of Quantitative Electroencephalography in Diagnosis and Severity Evaluation of Delirium: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE

Incontrovertible disease markers are absent in delirium. This study investigated the usefulness of quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) in diagnosing delirium.

METHODS

This retrospective case-control study reviewed medical records and qEEG data of 69 age/sex-matched patients (delirium group, n=30; control group, n=39). The first minute of artifact-free EEG data with eyes closed was selected. Nineteen electrodes' sensitivity, specificity, and correlation with delirium rating scale-revised-98 were analyzed.

RESULTS

On comparing the means of absolute power by frontal, central, and posterior regions, the delta and theta powers showed significant differences (p<0.001) in all regions, and the magnitude of the absolute power was higher in the delirium group than in the control group; only the posterior region showed a significant (p<0.001) difference in beta power. The spectral power of theta at the frontal region (area under the curve [AUC]=0.84) and theta at the central and posterior regions (AUC=0.83) showed 90% sensitivity and 79% specificity, respectively, in differentiating delirious patients and controls. The beta power of the central region showed a significant negative correlation with delirium severity (R=-0.457, p=0.011).

CONCLUSION

Power spectrum analysis of qEEG showed high accuracy in screening delirium among patients. The study suggests qEEG as a potential aid in diagnosing delirium.

Urinary Aromatic Amino Acid Metabolites Associated With Postoperative Emergence Agitation in Paediatric Patients After General Anaesthesia: Urine Metabolomics Study

Background: Emergence agitation (EA) is very common in paediatric patients during recovery from general anaesthesia, but underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This prospective study was designed to profile preoperative urine metabolites and identify potential biomarkers that can predict the occurrence of EA.

Methods: A total of 224 patients were screened for recruitment; of those, preoperative morning urine samples from 33 paediatric patients with EA and 33 non-EA gender- and age-matched patients after being given sevoflurane general anaesthesia were analysed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with a Q Exactive Plus mass spectrometer. Univariate analysis and orthogonal projection to latent structures squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to analyse these metabolites. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to identify predictive variables. The predictive model was evaluated through the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and then further assessed with 10-fold cross-validation.

Results: Seventy-seven patients completed the study, of which 33 (42.9%) patients developed EA. EA and non-EA patients had many differences in preoperative urine metabolic profiling. Sixteen metabolites including nine aromatic amino acid metabolites, acylcarnitines, pyridoxamine, porphobilinogen, 7-methylxanthine, and 5′-methylthioadenosine were found associated with an increased risk of EA, and they all exhibited higher levels in the EA group than in the non-EA group. The main metabolic pathways involved in these metabolic changes included phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan metabolisms. Among these potential biomarkers, L-tyrosine had the best predictive value with an odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) of 5.27 (2.20–12.63) and the AUC value of 0.81 (0.70–0.91) and was robust with internal 10-fold cross-validation.

Conclusion: Urinary aromatic amino acid metabolites are closely associated with EA in paediatric patients, and further validation with larger cohorts and mechanistic studies is needed.

Clinical Trial Registration:clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT04807998

Delirium in ICU Patients after Cardiac Arrest: A Scoping Review

Introduction: The incidence of delirium in the intensive care unit is high, although it may differ according to the specific characteristics of the unit. Despite the rapid development of research on delirium in recent years, the pathophysiological mechanisms leading to the clinical presentation of delirium are still subject to hypotheses. The aim of this review was to describe the incidence of delirium in cardiac arrest survivors and the clinical impact of delirium on patient outcomes. Methods: A scoping review was conducted in the second quarter of 2022. The number of articles retrieved during each search test was limited to studies conducted between 2010 and 2020. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The last search was conducted in May 2022. Results: A total of 537 records was initially obtained from the databases. After discarding duplicates, selecting titles and abstracts, and then analyzing full-text articles, 7 studies met the inclusion criteria. The incidence of delirium in the cardiac arrest survivor population ranged from 8% to as high as 100%. The length of stay in ICU and hospital was significantly longer in patients with delirium than those without. Ninety-eight percent of patients had cognitive or perceptual impairment and psychomotor impairment. Of the seven studies included in the analysis, the RASS, CAM, and NuDesc scales were used to diagnose delirium. Potential risk factors that may influence the duration of delirium include age and time since resuscitation; propofol use shortened the duration of delirium. Conclusion: the incidence of delirium in ICU patients who survived CA is high. Cardiac arrest is an additional predisposing factor for delirium. In cardiac arrest survivors, the occurrence of delirium prolongs the duration of ICU and hospital stay and adversely affects functional outcomes. The most common type of delirium among this population was hypoactive delirium. A large percentage of patients manifested symptoms such as cognitive or perception impairment, psychomotor impairment, and impaired concentration and attention.

Biomarkers in delirium: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Delirium is a common neuropsychiatric disorder associated with prolonged hospital stays, and increased morbidity and mortality. Diagnosis is frequently missed due to varying disease presentation and lack of standardized testing. We examined biomarkers as diagnostic or prognostic indicators of delirium, and provide a rational basis for future studies.

METHOD

Systematic review of literature published between Jan 2000 and June 2019. Searches included: PubMed; Web of Science; CINAHL; EMBASE; COCHRANE and Medline. Additional studies were identified by searching bibliographies of eligible articles.

RESULTS

2082 relevant papers were identified from all sources. Seventy-three met the inclusion criteria, all of which were observational. These assessed a range of fourteen biomarkers. All papers included were in the English language. Assessment methods varied between studies, including: DSM criteria; Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) or CAM-Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Delirium severity was measured using the Delirium Rating Scale (DRS). Delirium was secondary to post-operative dysfunction or acute medical conditions.

CONCLUSION

Evidence does not currently support the use of any one biomarker. However, certain markers were associated with promising results and may warrant evaluation in future studies. Heterogeneity across study methods may have contributed to inconclusive results, and more clarity may arise from standardization of methods of clinical assessment. Adjusting for comorbidities may improve understanding of the pathophysiology of delirium, in particular the role of confounders such as inflammation, cognitive disorders and surgical trauma. Future research may also benefit from inclusion of other diagnostic modalities such as EEG as well as analysis of genetic or epigenetic factors.

Postoperative Maladaptive Behavior, Preoperative Anxiety and Emergence Delirium in Children Undergone General Anesthesia: A Narrative Review

Over the years, the number of pediatric patients undergoing surgeries are increasing steadily. The types of surgery vary between elective to emergency with involvement of multidisciplinary teams. The development of day care surgery unit is expanding where the patients will only come to the hospital on the day of surgery and discharge home after such as satisfactory parameters achieved, minimal to no pain, minimal to no bleeding from surgical site and able to tolerate fluids. Hospitalization and surgery could contribute to significant psychological disturbance to the children. These issues are not being addressed as children have difficulty in conveying their problems and fear. They do however express it through negative behavioral changes.

Association of COMT Val158Met Polymorphism With Delirium Risk and Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury

OBJECTIVE

The authors investigated the association of the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism with delirium risk and functional and cognitive outcomes among patients with complicated mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHODS

In a prospective observational cohort study, patients were monitored for occurrence of delirium during the first 4 days of admission by using the Confusion Assessment Method. Functional and cognitive outcomes were evaluated with the Glasgow Outcome on Discharge Scale and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test, respectively. Eighty-nine patients were included in the study; of these, 17 (19%) were diagnosed with delirium.

RESULTS

The COMT Val¹⁵⁸/Val¹⁵⁸ polymorphism was associated with increased risk of delirium in multivariable regression analyses adjusted for alcohol misuse, history of neurological disorder, age, and admission Glasgow Coma Scale score (odds ratio=4.57, 95% CI=1.11, 18.9, p=0.036). The COMT Met¹⁵⁸ allele was associated with better functional outcomes in univariate analysis (odds ratio=2.82, 95% CI=1.10, 7.27, p=0.031) but not in multivariable analysis (odds ratio=2.33, 95% CI=0.89, 6.12, p=0.085). Cognitive outcomes were not associated with the COMT Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism in univariate regression analysis (p=0.390). Delirium was a significant predictor of worse functional and cognitive outcomes in multivariable regression analyses adjusted for other risk factors (odds ratio=0.04, 95% CI=0.01, 0.16, p<0.001, and β=-3.889, 95% CI=-7.55, -0.23, p=0.038, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The COMT genotype is important in delirium risk and functional outcomes of patients with mild to moderate TBI. Whether the COMT genotype is associated with outcomes through incident delirium remains to be determined in larger studies.

Genome-wide association identifies a novel locus for delirium risk

We aimed to identify common genetic variations associated with delirium through genome-wide association testing in a hospital biobank. We applied a published electronic health record-based definition of delirium to identify cases of delirium, and control individuals with no history of delirium, from a biobank spanning 2 Boston academic medical centers. Among 6035 individuals of northern European ancestry, including 421 with a history of delirium, we used logistic regression to examine genome-wide association. We identified one locus spanning multiple genes, including 3 interleukin-related genes, associated with p = 1.41e-8, and 5 other independent loci with p < 5e-7. Our results do not support previously reported candidate gene associations in delirium. Identifying common-variant associations with delirium may provide insight into the mechanisms responsible for this complex and multifactorial outcome. Using standardized claims-based phenotypes in biobanks should allow the larger scale investigations required to confirm novel loci such as the one we identify.

Pediatric Delirium: Evaluation, Management, and Special Considerations

Delirium describes a syndrome of acute brain dysfunction with severe consequences on patient outcomes, medical cost, morbidity, and mortality. It represents a final common pathway of numerous pathophysiologic disturbances disrupting cerebral homeostasis. The diagnosis is predicated on recognition of the clinical features of the syndrome through ongoing clinical assessment. Early identification can be aided by routine screening, particularly in high-risk populations. Evaluation and management are continuous and simultaneous processes involving a multidisciplinary care team including child psychiatry consultation. Prevention, early identification and management are critical in alleviating symptoms, improving outcomes, and reducing distress for patients, families, and care teams. This review highlights our current understanding regarding pediatric delirium, its mechanisms, clinical manifestations, detection and management.

Emergence Delirium in Pediatric Anesthesia

Emergence delirium (ED) is a complex of perceptual disturbances and psychomotor agitation that occurs most commonly in preschool-aged children in the early postanesthetic period. The incidence of ED varies between 10 and 80% in children and is perceived as a troublesome clinical situation by 42% of pediatric anesthesiologists. Although these events are often short lived, they increase the risk of self-injury and delayed discharge, require additional nursing staff and can increase medical care costs, all of which are causes for concern. The prevalence of ED has increased with the introduction and growing use of sevoflurane and desflurane, two low-solubility inhalational anesthetics. These agents promote early arousal post anesthetic, which contributes to ED. Physiological factors, pharmacological factors, the type of procedure, the anesthetic agent administered, painful stimuli, and various patient factors can all contribute to ED and thus need to be considered. Recent literature debates the cause-effect relationship between ED and pain, suggesting that they often occur concurrently but are sometimes independent findings. The consistent relation between ED and sevoflurane-based anesthesia has guided many studies to investigate its incidence compared with using other anesthetic techniques or various adjuncts. The risk of ED is lowest when propofol is used as a single-agent anesthetic compared with sevoflurane-based anesthetics. Adjunctive agents can be rated in the following order of most effective to least effective interventions: dexmedetomidine, fentanyl, ketamine, clonidine, and propofol bolus at the end of sevoflurane-based anesthesia. This review summarizes the factors that may predict ED and provides an intervention algorithm to guide effective prevention and treatment.

Delirium in critically ill patients

Delirium is common in critically ill patients and associated with increased length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and long-term cognitive impairment. The pathophysiology of delirium has been explained by neuroinflammation, an aberrant stress response, neurotransmitter imbalances, and neuronal network alterations. Delirium develops mostly in vulnerable patients (e.g., elderly and cognitively impaired) in the throes of a critical illness. Delirium is by definition due to an underlying condition and can be identified at ICU admission using prediction models. Treatment of delirium can be improved with frequent monitoring, as early detection and subsequent treatment of the underlying condition can improve outcome. Cautious use or avoidance of benzodiazepines may reduce the likelihood of developing delirium. Nonpharmacologic strategies with early mobilization, reducing causes for sleep deprivation, and reorientation measures may be effective in the prevention of delirium. Antipsychotics are effective in treating hallucinations and agitation, but do not reduce the duration of delirium. Combined pain, agitation, and delirium protocols seem to improve the outcome of critically ill patients and may reduce delirium incidence.

Postoperative Delirium in the Geriatric Patient

Postoperative delirium, a common complication in older surgical patients, is independently associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Patients older than 65 years receive greater than one-third of the more than 40 million anesthetics delivered yearly in the United States. This number is expected to increase with the aging of the population. Thus, it is increasingly important that perioperative clinicians who care for geriatric patients have an understanding of the complex syndrome of postoperative delirium.

Biomarkers of postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction

Elderly surgical patients frequently experience postoperative delirium (POD) and the subsequent development of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Clinical features include deterioration in cognition, disturbance in attention and reduced awareness of the environment and result in higher morbidity, mortality and greater utilization of social financial assistance. The aging Western societies can expect an increase in the incidence of POD and POCD. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms have been studied on the molecular level albeit with unsatisfying small research efforts given their societal burden. Here, we review the known physiological and immunological changes and genetic risk factors, identify candidates for further studies and integrate the information into a draft network for exploration on a systems level. The pathogenesis of these postoperative cognitive impairments is multifactorial; application of integrated systems biology has the potential to reconstruct the underlying network of molecular mechanisms and help in the identification of prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers.