Anaesthesia and cognitive functioning. Mental function in postoperative day patients at the time of their release.

Day care patients at Law Hospital, who had received either a general or a local anaesthetic in conjunction with minor surgery, were assessed by five tests of mental function before surgery and before discharge from hospital some hours after surgery. These patients did not perform differently from control patients, who were subjected to the same two testing sessions, without intervening surgery or anaesthesia. It was concluded that the day cases were quite capable of normal cognitive functioning at the time of their discharge and that the procedures followed by the hospital for the discharge of day cases are generally adequate.