| Summary: | Abstract Background Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common disorder in the elderly patients, and neuroinflammation is the possible underlying mechanism. This study is designed to determine whether or not hypertonic saline (HS) pre-injection can alleviate POD in aged patients. Methods This prospective study recruited 120 geriatric patients who underwent hip surgery. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: control group (NS group) and HS group. Patients in the NS group were pre-injected with 4 mL/kg isotonic saline, and those in the HS group were pre-injected with 4 mL/kg 7.5% HS. All 120 patients were then subjected to general anesthesia. Blood samples were extracted to detect the concentration of inflammatory factors, namely, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α, and the nerve injury factor S100β. Flow cytometry was used to detect the number of monocytes in peripheral venous blood and evaluate the relationship of inflammation to delirium. The nursing delirium screening scale (Nu-DESC) was used to determine cognitive function 1 to 3 days postoperatively. Results Analysis using random-effect multivariable logistic regression indicated that HS administration before anesthesia was associated with a low risk of POD (odds ratio [OR], 0.13; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.41; P = 0.001) and few CD14 + CD16+ monocytes (β = − 0.61; 95% CI, − 0.74 to − 0.48; P = 0.000) the following day. When the association between HS and delirium was controlled for CD14 + CD16+ monocytes, the effect size became nonsignificant (odds ratio [OR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.14 to 5.33; P = 0.874). TNF-α was significantly associated with POD (odds ratio [OR], 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.16; P = 0.000). However, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and S100β were not significantly related to POD. Conclusion HS can alleviate POD in geriatric patients and may inhibit the secretion of inflammatory factors by monocytes.
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