Oxford Cognitive Screen – Brazilian Portuguese version (OCS-Br): assessment of vascular cognitive impairment

TL;DR

The study evaluates the Oxford Cognitive Screen in Brazilian Portuguese (OCS-Br) to detect cognitive issues in stroke patients.

Contribution

The OCS-Br is adapted and validated for cognitive screening in post-stroke Brazilian patients.

Findings

OCS-Br showed significant differences in writing tasks, executive functions, and memory between stroke and healthy groups.

The tool is effective for assessing aphasia, visual impairment, and predicting long-term outcomes in stroke patients.

Cognitive monitoring and rehabilitation are emphasized as essential for post-stroke care.

Abstract

Cognitive impairment is prevalent in stroke patients and is rarely diagnosed. Cognitive deficits involving language functions, praxis, visuospatial and visuoconstructive skills, as well as memory, are prominent. The cognitive assessment tests available do not address some specific characteristics of stroke patients and present essential limitations concerning the most compromised cognitive domains.

To determine the performance profile of the Oxford Cognitive Screen – Brazilian Portuguese version (OCS-Br) in cognitively-healthy individuals and to evaluate its ability to screen for cognitive impairment in individuals after ischemic stroke.

We conducted an observational and descriptive study with cognitively-healthy individuals and patients with a history of stroke. The healthy individuals were recruited at the Neurology Clinic of the Outpatient Center of Universidade de São Caetano do Sul and the João Castaldelli Integrated Center for Health and Education for the Elderly, in the city of São Caetano do Sul, state of São Paulo. The stroke patients were recruited at the same Neurology Clinic and among subjects referred from Hospital Municipal de Emergências Albert Sabin and admitted to the Stroke Unit of Hospital Santa Marcelina, in the city of São Paulo, from September 2021 to July 2023.

The study included 108 participants, 50 (46.3%) in the stroke group and 58 (53.7%) in the healthy group. When comparing the OCS-Br scores between the groups, we found a significant difference in writing tasks, executive functions (attention, change of strategy), and memory.

Our results show the need for adequate monitoring and rehabilitation of poststroke patients. The advantages of the OCS-Br are: its focus on specific cognitive aspects of stroke, such as visual inattention and visual field testing; the assessment of patients with aphasia and visual impairment; and its prognostic value to predict long-term functioning.