![]() ![]() 9 It is a 10-item questionnaire reporting work, relationships, social, and domestic activities postinjury. The Rivermead Head Injury Follow-Up Questionnaire (RHIFUQ) measures psychosocial outcome in TBI subjects. 8 A total score of 13 or greater is considered indicative of overall psychological distress in a neurological setting. The 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) detects psychological distress and consists of four subscales measuring somatic symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression. Subjects were also given two psychosocial questionnaires. Failure was then defined as a Z score 1.5 SD below the mean. 7 For subjects with missing education information, MoCA normative corrections were adjusted only for age. For the MoCA, Z scores were calculated based on normative data controlling for age and level of education. Subjects were deemed to have failed a computerized test if results were more than 1.5 standard deviations below a mean normative score obtained from 200 healthy control subjects matched for age. A total of 20 minutes was taken for cognitive assessment (10 minutes for the computerized battery, and 10 minutes for the MoCA). The order of testing was as follows: Stroop, SDMT, PVSAT-2, and MoCA. The research assistant was blind to other information about the study subjects. 5, 6 A single research assistant trained in administering the computerized battery and MoCA tested all subjects. Details of these computerized tests have been previously described and the tests validated against a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. They included the Stroop Test, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), and a visual version of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test 2-second trials (PVSAT-2). The present study addresses the clinical usefulness of this approach in comparison to MoCA.Īll subjects were administered the MoCA and three computerized tests probing executive function, speed of information processing, and working memory. Given the importance of obtaining cognitive data in people with TBI, but cognizant of the limitations of an instrument such as the MoCA and the barriers to more comprehensive assessments, we have developed a brief computerized cognitive battery that takes less than 10 minutes to administer, requires little expertise, and gives immediate, automated results. One such commonly used instrument is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), previously utilized in a TBI setting. While brief screening tools come with fewer hurdles, they can at best give limited insights into a person’s cognition. 1, 2 In busy clinical settings, neuropsychological assessment can prove challenging due to the length of many cognitive batteries, the need for skilled psychometricians to administer tests, and, in certain health care settings, the cost. Cognitive impairments are commonly experienced by persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may contribute to difficulties performing instrumental and basic activities of daily living. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |