Effect of mindfulness-based therapy on postoperative cognitive function and sleep quality in elderly patients after surgery under local anesthesia

Abstract

BackgroundPostoperative cognitive dysfunction （POCD） is a common complication in elderly patients after surgery， and has a great impact on postoperative rehabilitation of patients.ObjectiveTo explore the effect of mindfulness-based therapy on cognitive function and sleep quality in elderly patients after surgery under local anesthesia， so as to provide references for reducing their incidence risk of POCD and improving sleep quality.MethodsThe simple random sampling method was utilized to select 78 elderly patients who underwent surgery under local anesthesia in The Third Hospital of Mianyang from March 2022 to March 2023. Participants were assigned into study group and control group， each with 39 cases. All patients were subjected to conventional treatment and nursing interventions， and study group added mindfulness-based therapy on this basis. Mini-Mental State Examination （MMSE） was administered to patients on 1 day before surgery， and on the 1st， 3rd and 5th day after surgery. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI） was employed on 1 day before surgery and on the 3rd day after surgery.ResultsMMSE scores revealed a significant time effect， group effect and time×group interaction effect （F=78.251， 197.071， 371.915， P<0.05）. Analysis of simple effect denoted that study group scored higher on MMSE on the 1st， 3rd and 5th day after surgery compared with control group， with statistical significance （t=-3.579， -1.764， -0.253， P<0.05）. Study group reported lower incidence rates of POCD on the 1st， 3rd and 5th day after surgery compared with control group， with statistical significance （χ2=2.631， 3.471， 5.135， P<0.05）. On the 3rd day after surgery，study group scored lower on PSQI than control group（P<0.05）， and PSQI total score， sleep latency， subjective sleep quality， daytime dysfunction and hypnotic drug use factor scores of study group were lower than baseline， with statistical significance（F=43.175， 12.594， 11.092， 4.579， 3.514， P<0.01）.ConclusionMindfulness-based therapy may have certain value in reducing incidence of POCD and improving sleep quality in elderly patients who underwent surgery under local anesthesia.

Keywords

• postoperative cognitive dysfunction
• mindfulness-based therapy
• sleep quality
• elderly people