Observational studyAnnals of neurology2020
Association of Plasma Neurofilament Light with Postoperative Delirium.
Observational study in Annals of neurology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perioperative neurofilament light chain and glial fibrillary acidic protein as biomarkers of postoperative delirium: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Neurofilament light chain as a potential biomarker of perioperative neurocognitive disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2026Pooled it
- Dissecting the genetic and proteomic risk factors for delirium.Nature aging · 2026Pooled it
- Relationship between postoperative biomarkers of neuronal injury and postoperative cognitive dysfunction: A meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Potential Markers of Neurocognitive Disorders After Cardiac Surgery: A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Effects of remimazolam vs. propofol on plasma neurofilament light chain and postoperative delirium in frail elderly patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery: a prospective, randomized, assessor-blinded controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Trial
- Effect of Dexmedetomidine on Postoperative Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain in Elderly Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial.Clinical interventions in aging · 2023Trial
- Perioperative neurocognitive disorders in older patients: a narrative review of current knowledge in 2026.Perioperative medicine (London, England) · 2026Review
- Cognitive trajectories before and after geriatric hip fracture: a matched longitudinal analysis of the Health and Retirement Study, 1996-2016.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- CSF neurofilament light chain concentration in patients with delirium following hip fracture: a multicenter prospective study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Observational
- Preoperative plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein and postoperative delirium in older adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Article
- Targeted profiling of the serum proteome associates increased FGF-23 levels with postoperative delirium in cardiac surgical patients.NPJ dementia · 2026Article
- Operationalizing perioperative clearance reserve: a reserve-load interaction model for neurocognitive outcomes in older surgical patients.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Recent advances in postoperative delirium in elderly patients: pathophysiological mechanisms, risk prediction, and therapeutic strategies.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Association Between Postoperative Pain Intensity and Delirium in Cardiac and Neurosurgical Patients: A Retrospective Pilot Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Advances in research on the pathogenesis and signaling pathways associated with postoperative delirium (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2025Review
- Association of Central Nervous System-Related Biomarkers With Hospital Delirium in Patients With Respiratory Failure in the ICU.CHEST critical care · 2025Article
- Associations between Aβ40, Aβ42, and tau and postoperative delirium in older adults undergoing cardiac surgery.Journal of neurology · 2025Article
- The intersection of delirium and long-term cognition in older adults: the critical role of delirium prevention.Journal of neurology · 2025Review
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the association of the plasma neuroaxonal injury markers neurofilament light (NfL), total tau, glial fibrillary acid protein, and ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 with delirium, delirium severity, and cognitive performance.
methodsDelirium case-no delirium control (n = 108) pairs were matched by age, sex, surgery type, cognition, and vascular comorbidities. Biomarkers were measured in plasma collected preoperatively (PREOP), and 2 days (POD2) and 30 days postoperatively (PO1MO) using Simoa technology (Quanterix, Lexington, MA). The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) and CAM-S (Severity) were used to measure delirium and delirium severity, respectively. Cognitive function was measured with General Cognitive Performance (GCP) scores.
resultsDelirium cases had higher NfL on POD2 and PO1MO (median matched pair difference = 16.2pg/ml and 13.6pg/ml, respectively; p < 0.05). Patients with PREOP and POD2 NfL in the highest quartile (Q4) had increased risk for incident delirium (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 3.7 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1-12.6] and 4.6 [95% CI = 1.2-18.2], respectively) and experienced more severe delirium, with sum CAM-S scores 7.8 points (95% CI = 1.6-14.0) and 9.3 points higher (95% CI = 3.2-15.5). At PO1MO, delirium cases had continued high NfL (adjusted OR = 9.7, 95% CI = 2.3-41.4), and those with Q4 NfL values showed a -2.3 point decline in GCP score (-2.3 points, 95% CI = -4.7 to -0.9).
interpretationPatients with the highest PREOP or POD2 NfL levels were more likely to develop delirium. Elevated NfL at PO1MO was associated with delirium and greater cognitive decline. These findings suggest NfL may be useful as a predictive biomarker for delirium risk and long-term cognitive decline, and once confirmed would provide pathophysiological evidence for neuroaxonal injury following delirium. ANN NEUROL 2020;88:984-994.
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Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.