The Perioperative Cognitive Anesthesia Network (PeCAN) is an interdisciplinary enterprise at UF Health Shands Hospital where anesthesiologists, neuropsychologists, geriatric medicine specialists, surgeons and nurses plan patient care prior to surgery.
PeCAN was established in August of 2017 as part of the Presurgical Center to be a clinical-training-research program designed to address the needs of older adults at risk for poor postoperative outcomes.
Did You Know?
Your surgical, anesthetic and hospital care needs change as you age.
Like our heart and other organs, our brain changes with age, becoming more sensitive to surgery and anesthesia stressors. At UF Health, we offer brain health checks before surgery. This helps your primary doctor and surgical team personalize your care during and after surgery.
Our Process
2019 surgical national practice guidelines recommend preoperative cognitive assessments for patients with and without a known history of cognitive impairment or dementia.
At UF Health, our anesthesia staff administer a quick cognitive screener to all adults over the age of 65 preparing for elective surgery. Older adults believed to be at risk for cognitive change or confusion following surgery are referred to a preoperative neuropsychologist for a neurobehavioral examination and thorough delirium-risk assessment. This appointment takes approximately one hour to complete.
The neuropsychologist is responsible for alerting anesthesiologists, surgeons, and primary care physicians about the patient’s cognitive status and a potential vulnerability for cognitive change.
The PeCAN clinic has conducted preoperative delirium- and cognitive-risk assessments with over 2,500 adults over the age of 65.
When Can I See the Brain Health Team?
You are welcome to see a provider immediately after your pre-op anesthesia appointment or on a separate day.
Anesthesiologists, surgeons and primary care physicians can refer you to the PeCAN clinic, or you can personally request to see the team.
Reasons to see a PeCAN provider
- You or a loved one are scheduled for surgery and have concerns about memory functioning and possible memory changes with anesthesia.
- You would like to learn how you are currently doing “brain-wise” so that you can optimize your brain health.
- To create a record of your current memory and thinking abilities for future comparisons.
- To improve post-surgery discharge care planning.
Contact Us
Our clinic is located within UF Health Shands Hospital:
- 1600 SW Archer Road, Suite 1111, Gainesville, FL 32608
- Call us at 352-594-6051 or email pecan@phhp.ufl.edu
Resources & Publications
- Preoperative cognition predicts clinical stroke/TIA and mortality after surgical aortic valve replacement in older adults
- The functional connectivity and neuropsychology underlying mental planning operations: data from the digital clock drawing test
- Delirium Central
- University of Florida researchers receive funding from Alzheimer’s association – WCJB TV20 News story
- Chronic pain and other life experiences may contribute to brain matter loss – UF Health News article
- Parkinson’s Disease Cognitive Phenotypes Show Unique Clock Drawing Features when Measured with Digital Technology
- Proof of concept: digital clock drawing behaviors prior to transcatheter aortic valve replacement may predict length of hospital stay and cost of care
- Acute Pain
- Ambulatory Anesthesia
- Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
- Congential Heart Anesthesiology
- Critical Care Medicine
- Liver & Transplant Anesthesiology
- Multispecialty Anesthesia
- Neuroanesthesiology
- Non-OR Anesthesia
- Obstetric Anesthesiology
- Pain Medicine
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
- Perioperative Cognitive Anesthesia Network
- Perioperative Medicine
- Vascular Anesthesia