Abstract:To study the effects of different anesthetic drugs on elderly patients. Methods From October 2015 to October 2016, 94 elderly patients undergoing general anesthesia were enrolled. According to the order of admission, the patients were divided into observation group and control group. The observation group was given Etomidate, and the control group was given Propofol. The cognitive function, brain oxygen metabolism and serum neurological improvement were compared between the two groups before operation and 3 days after operation. Results On the 3rd day after operation, the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05). The neuron specific enolase of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.05). The brain-derived neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factor 1 and transforming growth factor-β1 in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( p< 0.05). Conclusions Etomidate anesthesia in elderly patients can effectively improve the cognitive function of patients, reduce cerebral oxygen metabolism, and play protective effect on patient's brain.