Dexamethasone, Flurbiprofen Axetil and Delirium After Lung Cancer Surgery

Delirium is an acutely occurred, transient and fluctuating central nervous system dysfunction which is characterized by cognitive dysfunction, decreased level of consciousness, decentralized attention, and/or disturbed perception. It is a common complication in elderly patients after surgery. Systematic reviews showed that 5% to 54.4% of patients developed delirium after noncardiac surgery, and the incidences increase with age. The development of postoperative delirium is associated with worse outcomes. For example, patients with delirium had increased postoperative complications, prolonged hospital stay, and increased in-hospital mortality; they also had worse long-term outcomes, including declined cognitive function, decreased quality of life, and increased post-hospital mortality. The causes of delirium are multifactorial and may include pain, stress response and inflammation. Studies showed that postoperative pain is an important risk factor of delirium, whereas good postoperative analgesia reduces the incidence of delirium. Furthermore, the studies found that surgery related inflammatory response also plays an important role in the development of delirium. However, measures that can effectively prevent the occurrence of postoperative delirium are still lacking. Dexamethasone is commonly used to prevent the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. In a randomized controlled trial, small-dose dexamethasone (8 mg) administered before anesthesia induction improved the quality of recovery in patients after cardiac surgery. Flurbiprofen axetil is commonly used to improve postoperative analgesia while decreasing the requirement of opioids. In a randomized trial of the investigators, combined use of flurbiprofen axetil with sufentanil for postoperative analgesia reduced delirium in elderly patients after orthopedic surgery. The purpose of this 2 plus 2 factorial randomized controlled trial is to test the hypothesis that combined use of dexamethasone and flurbiprofen axetil may reduce delirium in elderly patients after lung cancer surgery.