Postoperative delirium and other forms of perioperative neurocognitive deficits occur commonly in older adult patients. Ketamine, administered either before or during general anaesthesia, may have cognitive-sparing properties owing to its ability to reduce neuroinflammation, increase neurotrophin levels, or allow reductions in the doses of other general anaesthetic drugs. However, the efficacy...
During the last 100 years, the role of anesthesiologists in psychiatry has focused primarily on facilitating electroconvulsive therapy and mitigating postoperative delirium and other perioperative neurocognitive disorders. The discovery of the rapid and sustained antidepressant properties of ketamine, and early results suggesting that other general anesthetic drugs (including nitrous oxide,...