The body can be prepped for surgery, and so can the brain — by giving patients "neurobics," or games that serve as cognitive exercises, according to a study published Nov. 11 in JAMA Surgery.
Researchers at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus set out to analyze whether preoperative brain games helped lower the risk of postoperative delirium, which causes mental confusion in older patients and can lead to slower surgery recoveries. They found patients who played brain games for 10 hours or more had a 61 percent reduction in delirium rates.
In a randomized clinical trial between March 2015 and August 2019, patients age 60 and over who underwent non-cardiac and non-neurological surgery were given an electronic tablet loaded with a brain game app targeting memory, speed, attention, flexibility and problem-solving functions. Patients were asked to play for an hour a day in the days leading up to their surgery.
The analysis included 251 patients, 125 who were given a tablet and 126 who served as a control group. Of the patients who received a tablet, 14.4 percent experienced delirium after their surgery, compared to 23 percent in the control group who were not asked to play the games. The benefit increased the more hours patients played ahead of their surgery.
"Using the app was ideal for this study because we could easily track how long and how often patients were playing," Michelle Humeidan, MD, PhD, study author, said in a news release. "But things like reading the newspaper, doing crossword puzzles or anything you enjoy to challenge your mind for an hour each day may improve your mental fitness and help prevent delirium as well."