Wednesday 28 March 2012

Other News - Sleep Apnea can affect a older citizen’s recuperation from surgical treatment



Usually whenever you have medical operations, you will be offered either a regional or general anesthetic. In some circumstances, especially in senior patients, post operative delirium could occur exactly where you've difficulty seeing, fluctuate in consciousness and possess a disrupted sleep pattern. In a new study named “Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Incidence of Postoperative Delirium after Elective Knee Replacement in the Non-demented Elderly”, it was actually identified that obstructive sleep apnea, which could be assisted with a sleep apnea mouthpiece, may help cause Postoperative Delirium (or POD).

In a analysis of over 65s, who were given sedation for knee surgery, 15 of the patients tested had sleep apnea. Ensuring that none of the individuals had nervous system problems or dementia, the study then observed a relationship between those who suffered with POD after the operation and those who had tested positive for OSA, or Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Post Operative Delirium usually became predominant typically at least two days after the surgical treatment and began to go away on the third day. Altogether, 25% of those analyzed suffered from POD following a procedure, but it was above 50% for those who had been struggling with OSA. It turned out to be the very first time that such a test with such criteria had been undertaken and the analysis stated:

“If it turns out that OSA does cause POD and that there are effective strategies to prevent it from doing so, than the paper by Flink et al. will be a landmark in the quest to address this most challenging preoperative complication.”

They believed it could well be caused by decreased hemoglobin and lower oxygen metabolism partly brought on by OSA coupled with other elements such as postoperative hypoxemia. Devices like a sleep apnea mouthpiece might have aided such patients prior to the procedures and it's fascinating to see what more information new research may bring.

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