The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Dec 2005
Randomized Controlled TrialDonepezil in the prevention and treatment of post-surgical delirium.
Delirium is a frequent complication of major surgery in older persons. The authors evaluated the possible benefit of donepezil versus placebo in the prevention and treatment of postoperative delirium in an older population without dementia undergoing elective total joint-replacement surgery. ⋯ This pilot study was unable to demonstrate a benefit for donepezil in preventing or treating delirium in a relatively young and cognitively-intact group of elderly patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery. Furthermore, postoperative delirium was not a major problem in this population.