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Prevalence and short‐term changes of cognitive dysfunction in young ischaemic stroke patients

Authors :
Daniela Pinter
Gerhard Bachmaier
Simon Fandler
Susanna Horner
Christian Enzinger
Markus Kneihsl
Sebastian Eppinger
K. Krenn
Kurt Niederkorn
Franz Fazekas
Thomas Gattringer
Source :
European Journal of Neurology
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Wiley, 2019.

Abstract

Background and purpose Information on the prevalence and course of post‐stroke cognitive impairment in young stroke patients is limited. The aim was to assess a consecutive sample of acute young ischaemic stroke patients (18–55 years) for the presence and development of neuropsychological deficits. Methods Patients prospectively underwent a comprehensive clinical and cognitive assessment, examining general cognitive function, processing speed, attention, flexibility/executive function and word fluency within the first 3 weeks after hospital admission (median assessment at day 6) and at a 3 months’ follow‐up (FU). Cognitive dysfunction was defined in comparison to age‐standardized published norms. Results At baseline (N = 114), deficits were highly prevalent in processing speed (56.0%), flexibility/executive function (49.5%), attention (46.4%) and general cognitive function (42.1%). These frequencies were comparable for those with FU assessment (N = 87). In most domains, cognitive performance improved within 3 months, except for word fluency. However, in about one‐third of patients, cognitive deficits (as defined by 1.5 standard deviations below the standardized mean) were still present 3 months after stroke. At FU, 44.0% were impaired in the domain flexibility/executive function, 35.0% in processing speed and 30.0% in attention. Conclusions The high prevalence of cognitive deficits in acute young patients with ischaemic stroke highlights the importance of early post‐stroke cognitive assessment to capture a patient's dysfunction in a comprehensive manner and to offer adequate rehabilitation. The role of factors which promote neuropsychological deficits needs further exploration.

Details

ISSN :
14681331 and 13515101
Volume :
26
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
European Journal of Neurology
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....016c39b8d9dbc084567f7ea998ac7446
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.13879