Background and Goal of Study: Actuality: Anesthesia is a risk factor for the postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). This research was aimed at studying possible cognitive deficiency including memory impairment in patients of different age groups. Abstract: Various studies indicated that general anesthesia led to a significant risk of early postoperative cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients. The incidence of POCD is often underestimated, it usually occurs in elderly patients but memory problems of younger subjects undergoing general anesthesia have not been studied thoroughly. Hypothesis: The application of general anesthesia leads to memory impairment in young and middle age patients. Objective: To assess memory decline in different age groups of patients after the spinal neurosurgical treatment with general anesthesia (propofol and fentanyl).
Materials and Methods: Neurocognitive tests according to Luria, 10 words test, visuospatial memory testing (complex images), Wechsler Memory Scale, MoCA, HADS, Pain Detect were used. Neurocognitive tests were performed preoperatively and at the moment of discharge. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing using Mann–Whitney U test were applied for analysis.
Results and Discussion: In our study 60 patients with chronic back pain undergoing neurosurgical treatment were divided into two equal groups of 30 persons in each. Group A consisted of young patients (avg. age 32.37 (range 18-44)), Group B included middle age patients (avg. age 51.33 (range 45-60)). Anesthesia duration was 4 hours on average. A significant memory decrease was observed in both groups in 6 days after anesthesia.
Conclusions: Our results showed a significant memory decrease in 6 days after general anesthesia.


08 / Comparative analysis of memory impairment after general anesthesia in different age groups