Evaluating Mechanisms of Postoperative Delirium and Cognitive Dysfunction Following Elective Spine Surgery in Elderly Patients (CONFESS): Protocol for a Prospective Observational Trial

Jonas Müller   ¹ , MD ;   Stephan Nowak   ¹ , MD ;   Antje Vogelgesang   ² , PhD ;   Bettina von Sarnowski   ² , MD ;   Eiko Rathmann   ³ , MD ;   Sein Schmidt   ⁴ , MD ;   Sebastian Rehberg   ⁵ , MD ;   Taras Usichenko   ⁶ , MD ;   Harry Kertscho   ⁶ , MD ;   Klaus Hahnenkamp   ⁶ , MD ;   Agnes Flöel   ^{2, 7} , MD ;   Henry WS Schroeder   ¹ , MD ;   Jan-Uwe Müller   ¹ , MD ;   Robert Fleischmann   ² , MD

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

² Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

³ Department of Radiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

⁴ Clinical Research Unit, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany

⁵ Department of Anesthesiology, Protestant Hospital of the Bethel Foundation, Bielefeld, Germany

⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

⁷ Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Greifswald/Rostock, Germany