Does anaesthesia cause postoperative cognitive dysfunction? A randomised study of regional versus general anaesthesia in 438 elderly patients

Background: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication after cardiac and major non‐cardiac surgery with general anaesthesia in the elderly. We hypothesized that the incidence of POCD would be less with regional anaesthesia rather than general. Methods: We included patients aged over 60 years undergoing major non‐cardiac surgery. After giving written informed consent, patients were randomly allocated to general or...