1. Methods for Improving Screening for Vascular Cognitive Impairment Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment
- Author
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Malcolm A. Binns, Derek Beaton, Khush-Bakht Zaidi, Brian Levine, Paula M. McLaughlin, Jill B. Rich, Ayman Hassan, Bradley Pugh, Ondri Investigators, Kelly M Sunderland, Linda Truong, Donna Kwan, Demetrios J. Sahlas, Richard H. Swartz, Dariush Dowlatshahi, Angela K. Troyer, and Jennifer Mandzia
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Neuropsychological Tests ,Audiology ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Humans ,Medicine ,Cognitive Dysfunction ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Cognitive skill ,Cognitive impairment ,Receiver operating characteristic ,business.industry ,Neuropsychology ,Montreal Cognitive Assessment ,Symbol digit modalities test ,General Medicine ,Neuropsychological battery ,Mental Status and Dementia Tests ,Stroke ,Neurology ,Neurology (clinical) ,Metric (unit) ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Background:Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) post-stroke is frequent but may go undetected, which highlights the need to better screen cognitive functioning following a stroke.Aim:We examined the clinical utility of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in detecting cognitive impairment against a gold-standard neuropsychological battery.Methods:We assessed cognitive status with a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests in 161 individuals who were at least 3-months post-stroke. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to identify two cut points for the MoCA to maximize sensitivity and specificity at a minimum 90% threshold. We examined the utility of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, a processing speed measure, to determine whether this additional metric would improve classification relative to the MoCA total score alone.Results:Using two cut points, 27% of participants scored ≤ 23 and were classified as high probability of cognitive impairment (sensitivity 92%), and 24% of participants scored ≥ 28 and were classified as low probability of cognitive impairment (specificity 91%). The remaining 48% of participants scored from 24 to 27 and were classified as indeterminate probability of cognitive impairment. The addition of a processing speed measure improved classification for the indeterminate group by correctly identifying 65% of these individuals, for an overall classification accuracy of 79%.Conclusions:The utility of the MoCA in detecting cognitive impairment post-stroke is improved when using a three-category approach. The addition of a processing speed measure provides a practical and efficient method to increase confidence in the determined outcome while minimally extending the screening routine for VCI.
- Published
- 2020