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BWH researchers are teaming up with other leading investigators from nearby institutions to find new approaches that will prevent delirium, an acute state of confusion and a leading cause of post-surgical complications.
This in-depth $11 million study titled “Successful AGing after Elective Surgery (SAGES)” is funded by the National Institute on Aging, and it teams up researchers and resources from BWH, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Hebrew SeniorLife.
“As the population is aging and older people undergo more surgical interventions, this study will expand our knowledge about the long-term effects of delirium on older patients,” said Selwyn Rogers, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Trauma, Burn and Surgical Critical Care at BWH and one of SAGES’ principal investigators.
Sharon Inouye, MD, MPH, SAGES’ overall principal investigator and Partners research scientist, says that findings may improve the ability to diagnose delirium in a timely manner and potentially treat it to mitigate its effects on patients.
“Delirium is an acute, confusional state that often affects older adults following surgery or serious illness,” said Inouye, who cites that delirium develops in 14 to 56 percent of all hospitalized seniors, complicating hospital stays for more than 2.5 million elderly individuals in the U.S. each year.
SAGES will follow 500 surgical patients over age 70 with the goal of finding new approaches to prevent delirium and its long-term consequences for this growing population.
Through four separate “studies within the study,” SAGES will bring together interdisciplinary teams of investigators to examine which factors enable a person to avoid becoming delirious, whether there are biomarkers and proteins that can accurately predict who is at risk for developing delirium, its long-term risk on brain function and whether individuals who are in good cognitive and physical health prior to surgery are protected from the onset of delirium.
For more information, contact sages@hrca.harvard.eduor 617-363-8020.