Presenter: Monika Sadlonova, MD, MBA
Description: Postoperative delirium (POD) is one of the most frequent and clinically relevant neuropsychiatric complications after cardiac surgery and is associated with adverse short- and long-term outcomes. In this webinar, Dr. Sadlonova will present findings from the prospective interdisciplinary FINd DElirium RIsk factors (FINDERI) study, which investigated clinical, cognitive, surgical, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative factors associated with POD and postoperative cognitive dysfunction in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The session will discuss how findings on perioperative risk factors and emerging blood-based biomarkers can advance our understanding of the vulnerable brain and inform multimodal preoperative risk stratification. Finally, the presentation will address how these findings can be translated from risk prediction toward targeted delirium prevention and individualized perioperative care.
Presenter: Dr. Monika Sadlonova is a Attending Physician and Associate Professor in psychosomatic medicine with a clinical and research focus on psychocardiology, perioperative brain health, postoperative delirium, and cardiovascular prevention. Her research focuses on the heart–brain–mind interface, particularly the identification of patients at increased risk for adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes following cardiac surgery and the development of multimodal approaches for risk prediction and prevention. Her work integrates psychosomatic medicine, cardiac surgery, geriatrics, psychiatry, and cardiovascular medicine, with the goal of translating interdisciplinary research into personalized perioperative care.
If you are interested in learning about this topic beforehand, please consider taking a look at the following:
· von Arnim CAF, Sadlonova M, Derad C, Hohberg M, Celano CM, Günther I, Titsch T, Krasiuk I, Packroß K, Becker MM, Rediske AI, Süttmann NP, Knopp CM, Heinemann S, Itting PT, Kutschka I, Morgado B, Esselmann H, Baraki H, Asendorf T, Hansen N, Wiltfang J; FIND Delirium Risk Factors (FINDERI) investigators. Plasma Amyloid-β 1-40 and Postoperative Delirium After Cardiac Surgery. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(7):e2625730. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.25730. PMID: 42518233.
· Hansen N, Sadlonova M, Esselmann H, Celano CM, Derad C, Asendorf T, Hohberg M, Chebbok M, Heinemann S, Morgado B, Titsch T, Packroß K, Knopp CM, Becker MM, Günther I, Krasiuk I, Rediske AI, Süttmann NP, Itting PT, Wirths O, Kutschka I, Baraki H, von Arnim CAF, Wiltfang J; FINDERI investigators. Early Alzheimer´s disease blood biomarkers are associated with a higher risk for postoperative long-term cognitive decline: Insights from the FINDERI study. Alzheimers Dement. 2026;22(7):e71631. doi: 10.1002/alz.71631. PMID: 42449187.
· Hansen N, Knopp CM, Esselmann H, Celano CM, Derad C, Asendorf T, Chebbok M, Heinemann S, Malik I, Morgado B, Becker MM, Günther I, Krasiuk I, Packroß K, Rediske AI, Süttmann NP, Titsch T, Kutschka I, Baraki H, Wiltfang J, von Arnim CAF, Sadlonova M; FINDERI investigators. Prediction of postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery by the interplay between preoperative plasma p-tau181 and IL-6 and heart-brain axis related factors: results from the prospective observational study FINDERI. Mol Psychiatry. 2026;31(5):2509-2519. doi: 10.1038/s41380-025-03412-3. Epub 2025 Dec 22. PMID: 41429986.
· Itting PT, Sadlonova M, Santander MJ, Knierim M, Derad C, Asendorf T, Celano CM, Hansen N, Esselmann H, Heinemann S, Eberhard C, Hoteit M, Schröder MF, Kutschka I, Wiltfang J, von Arnim CAF, Baraki H; and FINDERI Investigators. Intra- and early postoperative predictors of delirium risk in cardiac surgery: results from the prospective observational FINDERI study. Int J Surg. 2025;111(4):2872-2885. doi: 10.1097/JS9.0000000000002265. PMID: 39903520.
· Sadlonova M, Hansen N, Esselmann H, Celano CM, Derad C, Asendorf T, Chebbok M, Heinemann S, Wiesent A, Schmitz J, Bauer FE, Ehrentraut J, Kutschka I, Wiltfang J, Baraki H, von Arnim CAF; FINDERI investigators. Preoperative Delirium Risk Screening in Patients Undergoing a Cardiac Surgery: Results from the Prospective Observational FINDERI Study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2024;32(7):835-851. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.12.017. PMID: 38228452.