Cognitive assessment during inpatient rehabilitation after spinal cord injury, a retrospective cross-sectional study

Abstract Cognitive assessment during inpatient rehabilitation after spinal cord injury Anneke A.W. Welkamp1 MSc, Christel C. M v. Leeuwen1 PhD, Marcel W.M. Post1,2 PhD and Janneke M. Stolwijk-Swüste1 MD, PhD. 1 Centre of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, UMC Utrecht Brain Centre, University Medical Centre Utrecht, and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2 University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Groningen, the Netherlands Study design Cross-sectional study Objectives 1) to evaluate cognitive functioning of rehabilitation inpatients with recently acquired spinal cord injury (SCI) with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); 2) to compare the MoCA with the cognitive domain of the Utrecht scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation (USER) Setting First inpatient rehabilitation in a specialized rehabilitation centre in the Netherlands. Methods MOCA and USER data of inpatients between November 2020 and December 2021 were used. The correlation coefficient between MoCA and USER scores and regression analysis determined the associations between MoCA and demographic and injury-related variables. Results Included were 99 adults aged (median) 59.1 years (range 19.5-84.4), 67% male, 26% traumatic SCI, 64% paraplegic. MoCA and USER scores were available for 83 and 92 individuals, respectively. In 44.6 % of the participants, the MoCA score was below the cut-off. Age (r = 0.31, p = 0.005) and educational level (r = 0.54 P < 0.00) were significantly correlated to the MoCA score. The MoCA and the cognitive domain of the USER were moderately correlated (r = 0.25, p = 0.03). Conclusions Almost half of the inpatients scored below the cut-off score on the MoCA. Since the MoCA is a validated cognitive screening tool, the moderate correlation of the MoCA and the cognitive domain of the USER suggests that the USER alone is not sufficient in detecting cognitive deficits. We recommend to screen for cognitive deficits in all people with new SCI. Sponsorship None