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• Posted June 17, 2026

Post-Op Delirium Common In Seniors, But Not All Hospitals Screen For It

Many seniors experience delirium after surgery, suffering from confusion and disorientation as they emerge from anesthesia.

But some hospitals are better than others at identifying and treating post-op delirium, researchers say.

Hospitals certified for geriatric surgery screen nearly all patients for delirium following an operation, researchers reported recently in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

By comparison, only about half of hospitals without this certification check seniors for post-op delirium, researchers found.

“A lot of delirium, especially in older adults, is hypoactive — it is the quiet form where a patient is withdrawn or lethargic. If you are not doing routine screening, these cases go undetected and can be mistaken for fatigue,” said lead researcher Dr. Sarah Remer, a general surgery resident at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois.

“Some hospitals may only be screening when a patient has hyperactive, very clinically obvious delirium, essentially using a screening tool to confirm a diagnosis rather than to get ahead of it,” Remer said in a news release.

The new study involves the American College of Surgeons’ Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) Program, a quality-of-care program focused on preventing common complications like delirium, falls and pneumonia.

About 25% of seniors are affected by delirium following surgery, researchers said in background notes.

For the study, researchers tracked nearly 98,000 seniors 75 and older who underwent inpatient surgery in 2024.

Overall, about half (53%) received delirium screening after surgery, according to the study.

More than 94% of patients treated at hospitals with GSV certification were screened, compared to 53% at hospitals without that certification, researchers found.

Despite this gap, the rate of delirium diagnoses was about the same — 11% for GSV hospitals versus nearly 13% for non-GSV hospitals.

Patients with delirium at GSV hospitals tended to have shorter lengths of stay and fewer prolonged hospitalizations, the study found.

“Delirium is associated with longer hospital stays, worse patient outcomes and higher healthcare costs. Our findings suggest that one of the greatest benefits of GSV may be in the standardized, multidisciplinary care processes that support prevention, early recognition and early recovery,” Remer said.

“Routine delirium screening is important because it allows for early recognition, the ability to intervene and also the opportunity to evaluate for precipitating factors,” she added.

Remer suggested that families can help doctors keep an eye on delirium when they check in on their loved ones following surgery.

“Families and caregivers are often first to notice subtle changes in a patient’s thinking or behavior,” Remer said. “Seeing a loved one confused postoperatively can be distressing, but family members play an important role in helping patients stay oriented and alerting the clinical team to any sudden changes. Because you know your loved one best, your observations can be incredibly valuable.”

Remer said hospitals can help prevent delirium after surgery. Here’s how:

• Ensure that hearing aids and glasses are returned to the patient as soon as possible.

• Keep a clock and calendar visible to help re-orient patients.

• Let the room’s lighting follow a natural sleep-wake cycle, bright in the daytime and dark at night.

• Help patients stay awake and engaged by talking to them about familiar people, places and current events.

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more about delirium.

SOURCES: American College of Surgeons, news release, June 10, 2026; Journal of the American College of Surgeons, June 10, 2026