Assessing prevalence and independent predictors of postoperative delirium in patients with head and neck cancer

Abstract

With a great interest we read the recent article by Crawford et al1 determining the prevalence and independent predictors of postoperative delirium (POD) in head and neck cancer patients undergoing free flap reconstruction. They showed that incidence of POD was 7.5%, and male gender, age over 65 years, alcohol, smoking, vascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27 score of more than 2, prolonged operative time, bony free flaps and blood transfusions were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing POD.