: Compared with general anesthesia , neuraxial anesthesia may reduce the 0-to-30-day mortality for patients undergoing a surgery with an intermediate-to-high cardiac risk ( level of evidence moderate ) .
BACKGROUND : This analysis summarized Cochrane review s that assess the effects of neuraxial anesthesia on perioperative rates of death , chest infections , and myocardial infa rct ion .
Postoperative Confusion after Anesthesia in Elderly Patients with Femoral Neck Fractures
Fifty-seven patients , all over the age of 64 , with femoral neck fracture were r and omized to receive epidural or halothane anesthesia  to see if the anesthetic technique influenced the incidence of postoperative confusion . All patients were lucid on admission . Using the American Psychiatric Association 's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-III ) as criteria for confusion , we found that 44 % of the patients developed confusion that correlated closely to a history of mental depression ( P < 0.01 ) and to the use of drugs with anticholinergic effect ( P < 0.005 ) . There was no difference in the incidence of confusion between the two anesthetic groups . In patients given halothane , however , early postoperative hypoxemia was associated with confusion ( P < 0.05 ) . Patients with confusion had significantly more postoperative complications and almost four times longer hospitalization times . It is concluded that anticholinergic medication and a history of mental depression are predominant risk factors for development of postoperative confusion and in this respect are more important than the anesthetic technique
: Compared with general anesthesia , neuraxial anesthesia may reduce the 0-to-30-day mortality for patients undergoing a surgery with an intermediate-to-high cardiac risk ( level of evidence moderate ) .
BACKGROUND : This analysis summarized Cochrane review s that assess the effects of neuraxial anesthesia on perioperative rates of death , chest infections , and myocardial infa rct ion .