New program aims to stop post-surgery confusion in seniors
NCT ID NCT05114876
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
After surgery, many older adults experience confusion or memory problems, known as delirium. This study tests a program that identifies patients at high risk before surgery and then uses simple steps—like better sleep and hydration—to prevent delirium. The program also educates families and alerts the care team. Researchers will compare how often delirium occurs before and after the program is put in place.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- multicomponent delirium-risk prevention bundle (education, chart flagging, nursing protocols)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this program could become a standard way to prevent postoperative confusion in older surgical patients, making surgery safer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a single-center study with 260 participants, so results may not apply everywhere. The program relies on staff following new steps, which can be hard to maintain.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 260 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2021
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2025
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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60 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * ≥ 60 years old * Undergoing major elective surgery (e.g., intra-abdominal, retroperitoneal, major orthopedic) with an expected postoperative stay of at least 1 night * Evidence of cognitive impairment on baseline screening tests (i.e. any score \< 90 on CBB or \>10 on S-OMCT) Exclusion Criteria: * Patients undergoing cardiac surgery * Patients undergoing intracranial neurosurgery * Patients with known substance use disorder (verbally declared by patients) * Unlikely to comply with study assessment (e.g., no fixed address, without access to internet/computer/phone).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
RECRUITINGToronto, Ontario, Canada
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