RESEARCH ARTICLE Low Hemoglobin Level Is Associated with the Development of Delirium after Hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide and liver resection is the only potential curative treatment option for those patients. Postop-erative complications specific to elderly surgical patients such as delirium will be increasing-ly relevant in the coming decades. Herein, we aimed to investigate the risk factors for postoperative delirium in patients who have received hepatectomy for HCC. Methods This is a single medical center observational study and the study subjects comprised 401 in-dividuals who underwent liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma during January 2009 to October 2013. Multivariate analysis was used to examine whether preoperative, intra-op-erative, or postoperative variables were associated with the development of delirium. Results Of the 401 patients who underwent hepatectomy, 34 developed postoperative delirium (8.4%). In the majority of those patients, symptoms and signs of the syndrome occurred o