Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42052373›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in surgery2026

Effects of spontaneous breathing anesthesia on postoperative cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients: a narrative review.

Tongxin Zheng, Lei Chen

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Tongxin ZhengThoracic Surgery Department, School of Clinical Medicine, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China.
Lei ChenDepartment of Anesthesiology, the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common and severe central nervous system complication following anesthesia in elderly patients, significantly increasing their medical burden and reducing quality of life. Conventional endotracheal intubation under general anesthesia may be a potential risk factor, while the associated effects of spontaneous-breathing anesthesia remain inconclusive. This paper elucidates the pathophysiological mechanisms of POCD, including neuroinflammatory cascades, cerebral oxygen metabolism imbalance, blood-brain barrier disruption, and the unique vulnerability of elderly brain tissue. It also analyzes the neuroprotective properties of spontaneous-breathing anesthesia, which optimizes cerebral oxygen supply-demand balance, reduces systemic and central inflammation, and modulates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress responses-demonstrating distinct mechanisms from conventional endotracheal intubation anesthesia. Existing clinical evidence indicates its cognitive protective effects in elderly patients during certain surgeries, though heterogeneity in outcomes across procedure types and methodological limitations in studies persist. Furthermore, this paper outlines key perioperative management points for this anesthetic technique, addresses related controversies, and identifies future research directions such as multimodal monitoring and individualized protocols, providing crucial guidance for perioperative brain health management in elderly patients.

Indexed as

clinical evidenceelderly patientsmechanismPOCDreviewspontaneous breathing anesthesia

Identifiers

PMID42052373
PMCPMC13111330

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.