The role of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100B protein in the incidence of acute postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in geriatric patients receiving general anesthesia

Introduction: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) following general anesthesia is frequent among geriatric patients worldwide. Neuroinflammation and neuronal injury have been associated with the incidence of POCD. Some biomarkers of brain damage including neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100B protein have been widely studied; however, their association with the incidence of POCD is still controversial. This study aimed to assess the correlation of serum NSE and S100B levels with the incidence of POCD among geriatric patients receiving general anesthesia. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among geriatric patients receiving general anesthesia at Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya from July to October 2022. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) INA instrument was used to assess POCD, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantify the levels of serum NSE and S100B. Spearman’s rank correlation was implemented to identify the correlation of MoCA INA scores with the levels of NSE and S100B. Mann-Whitney analysis was used to determine the association between NSE and S100B levels with the incidence of POCD. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 48 patients were enrolled in the study and 16.7% of them had POCD. Spearman’s correlation test suggested no significant correlation between MoCA INA score with serum NSE level (rs:-0.095; p=0.522) and S100B level (rs:-0.213; p=0.146). Mann-Whitney analysis indicated no significant difference in the NSE and S100B levels of patients with and without POCD (p=0.3470 and p=0.097, respectively). Conclusion: There was no significant association between NSE and S100B levels with the incidence of POCD among geriatric patients receiving general anesthesia during elective surgeries at Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya.