Delirium and Neuropsychological Recovery Among Emergency General Surgery Survivors

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult age 65 years and older

• Admitted to one of the participating hospitals

• Undergone an abdominal orthopedic, skin, or vascular surgery in an emergency orunplanned fashion

• English-speaking

• Able to provide consent or have a legally authorized representative to provideconsent

• Access to a telephone or an internet connected computer or smart device

• Discharged to home or sub-acute rehabilitation

• At least one episode of delirium or subsyndromal delirium, i.e. screen positive onat least one out of the four items on the Confusion Assessment Method-ICU (CAM-ICU)in the period prior to discharge from acute care.

Exclusion Criteria:

• A self-reported diagnosis of cancer with short life expectancy

• A history of dementing illnesses and other neurodegenerative disease such asAlzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson disease, or vascular dementia, or currentprescription of anti-dementia medication, or ruled out by Functional ActivitiesQuestionnaire (FAQ) score defining dementia; a history of significant traumaticbrain injury

• Acute or subacute neurologic deficit expected to prevent independent living afterhospital discharge, e.g., a history of a significant traumatic brain injury

• Have any spinal cord injury with persistent neurologic deficit at the time of studyenrollment

• Incarcerated or homeless at the time of study enrollment

• Acquired neurologic injury (stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral edema/swelling,anoxic brain injury, or any other acute/subacute severe neurologic deficit) as theadmitting diagnosis or a new event during the course of hospitalization (confirmedby EMR)

• A history of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia (confirmed by EMR)