Dexamethasone for the Prevention of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction

Dexamethasone for the Prevention of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly Patients Undergoing to General Anesthesia

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 4

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01332812

Enrollment

300

Registered

2011-04-11

Start date

2011-01-31

Completion date

2013-03-31

Last updated

2015-09-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction

Keywords

Dexamethasone, Postoperative cognitive dysfunction, General Anesthesia, neuropsychological tests

Brief summary

This study aims to evaluate the possible effect of dexamethasone on prevention of cognitive dysfunction in the postoperative period of elderly patients undergoing to surgery under general anesthesia.

Detailed description

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction is related with the use of opioids in the postoperative period, lack of physical activity, fatigue, postoperative pain and quality of life. The use of corticosteroids preoperatively reduces postoperative pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting in the postoperative period and is frequently used as an adjuvant in anesthesia. This study aims to evaluate the possible effect of dexamethasone on prevention of cognitive dysfunction in the postoperative period of elderly patients undergoing to surgery under general anesthesia.

Interventions

DRUGDexamethasone

a dose of 8 mg of dexamethasone will be administered intravenously before induction of general anesthesia

OTHERcontrol group

General anesthesia, without additional interventions

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

60 Years to 90 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* patients over 60 years, * underwent surgery for inguinal hernia repair, Nissen procedure, cholecystectomy or other surgeries midsize under general anesthesia and hospital stay expected within 72 hours.

Exclusion criteria

* age less than 60 years, * history of brain disease or dementia, other psychiatric disorders that affect cognition, * lack of proficiency in Portuguese, * use of corticosteroids or opioid preoperatively.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Score in neuropsycological tests.	6 months.	Tests for evaluation of quality of life, depressive symptoms and neuropsychological battery to assess general mental status, learning, attention, visuospatial perception, immediate memory, operational and executive skills and recall, including processing speed. This assessment will be applied before surgery, and 3, 7, 21, 90 and 180 days after surgery.

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 1, 2026