Anesthesia for the patient with dementia

With a growing aging population, more patients suffering from dementia are expected to undergo surgery, thus being exposed to either general or regional anesthesia. This calls for specific attention ranging from the legal aspects of obtaining informed consent in demented patients to deciding on the use of premedication, choice of anesthetics, and management of postoperative pain. This review reflects on both general considerations concerning geriatric patients but also on the specific features of perioperatively used drugs and anesthetics that might have an impact on patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).