A pre-anesthetic bolus of ketamine versus dexmedetomidine for prevention of postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing emergency surgery: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study.

"Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participateThis study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Aswan University Hospital (approval number: aswu/548/7/2021; registration date: 06/07/2021) and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05341154) (22/04/2022). It was held between May 2022 and May 2023 and followed the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines. The study’s objectives and risks were explained to participants, and they signed written informed consent. All methods were carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and subsequent amendments. Consent for publicationNot applicable. Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests."

"Funding The authors received no outside funding. Open access funding provided by The Science, Technology & Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) in cooperation with The Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB)."

"Trial registration This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Aswan University Hospital (approval number: aswu/548/7/2021; registration date: 06/07/2021) and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05341154) (22/04/2022)."