MoCA test and general anesthesia for a two different surgical techniques

Introduction Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is defined as a new cognitive impairment shown after operation. Many factors may contribute to POCD and has potentially two different patterns: acute cognitive dysfunction, known as postoperative delirium and a later onset and more per- sistent POCD. The reported incidence vary depending on the group of patients studied, the test used, the time of testing and the choice of control group. POCD can only be diagnosed and measured using tests both pre- and postoperative. In our research we use Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. It is a widely used screening assessment for detecting cognitive impairment. Materials and Methods The prospective study included 30 patients who were treated at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb. They were anaesthetized for radical prostatectomy using the TIVA technique and divided into two groups: 19 patients who underwent classical surgery and 11 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery. The MoCA test was analysed pre-operatively and 48 hours after surgery. Parametric tests were not used due to deviations of individual distributions from normal, as determined by Shapiro-Wilk tests (p