Comparison of Sensitivity of Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination and Mini-mental State Examination

ABSTRACT

The neurobehavioral cognitive status examination(NCSE), a screening examination tool that assesses cognitive funtion in a brief but quantitative fashion, is used as an independent test of five major areas language, constructions, memory, calculation and reasoning. The examination also separately assesses levels of consciousness, orientation, and attention. This instrument quickly identifies the intact areas of functioning, yet provides more detailed assessment in the areas of dysfunction. To determine whether the neuro behavioral cognitive status examination is a more sensitive instrument for the detection of cognitive impairment than the minimental state examination(MMSE), we performed these test simultaneously in 26 patients with stroke. The sensitivities were 88.5% for NCSE and 53.8% for MMSE respectively. The sensitivity of NCSE was derived from two features of its design: the use of independent tests to assess skills within five major areas of cognitive functioning, and the use of graded tasks within each of these cognitive domains.