RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: A formal and complete language assessment requires too much time and also tires the patient out during the first recovery stages after brain injury. The aim of this paper is to introduce a bedside screening, short and sensitive to diagnose aphasias in patients with brain injury. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The results of the Bedside Assessment of Language (BAL) was studied in 121 aphasic patients and in 77 dysarthric patients after brain injury. The five linguistic areas assessed in this short battery are: spontaneous language, comprehension, repetition, writing and reading. Each area has a maximum of 5 points, and the test has a total score of 25. Statistics tests used were: median test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Fisher's exact test, receiver operating characteristics curves and correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The BAL showed an excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient: 0.9419); sensitivity was of 79.3% and specificity of 84.4%. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the BAL has been a potentially useful tool for the diagnose of the type of aphasia and it has been sensitive to evolutionary changes in sub-acute stages of language disorders.
Assuntos
Afasia/diagnóstico , Inquéritos e Questionários , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Afasia/etiologia , Lesões Encefálicas/complicações , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Sistemas Automatizados de Assistência Junto ao Leito , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
Una evaluación del lenguaje formal y completa requiere mucho tiempo y fatiga al paciente que se encuentraen las primeras fases de recuperación de una lesión cerebral. El objetivo del presente trabajo es presentar un instrumento corto y sensible de cribado, aplicable al pie de la cama y diseñado con el propósito de diagnosticar afasias en pacientescon lesión cerebral. Pacientes y métodos. Se estudiaron los resultados del bedside de lenguaje (BL) en 121 pacientes afásicos y en 77 pacientes disártricos después de una lesión cerebral. Las cinco áreas lingüísticas evaluadas en esta batería corta incluyen: lenguaje espontáneo, comprensión, repetición, escritura y lectura. Cada subárea tiene una puntuación máximade 5 puntos, por lo que suman un total de 25. Las pruebas estadísticas usadas fueron: prueba de la mediana, test de Kruskal-Wallis, prueba exacta de Fisher, curvas ROC y coeficiente de correlación. Resultados. El BL demostró una excelente fiabilidad(coeficiente alfa de Cronbach para evaluar la consistencia interna: 0,9419); la sensibilidad fue del 79,3% y la especificidad, del 84,4%. Conclusiones. Los resultados indicaron que el BL fue una herramienta potencialmente útil para la determinacióndel tipo de afasia y sensible a los cambios evolutivos en etapas subagudas de trastornos del lenguaje
A formal and complete language assessment requires too much time and also tires the patient outduring the first recovery stages after brain injury. The aim of this paper is to introduce a bedside screening, short and sensitive to diagnose aphasias in patients with brain injury. Patients and methods. The results of the Bedside Assessment of Language (BAL) was studied in 121 aphasic patients and in 77 dysarthric patients after brain injury. The five linguistic areas assessed in this short battery are: spontaneous language, comprehension, repetition, writing and reading. Each area has a maximum of 5 points, and the test has a total score of 25. Statistics tests used were: median test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Fishers exact test, receiver operating characteristics curves and correlation coefficient. Results. The BAL showed an excellent internal consistencyreliability (Cronbachs alpha coefficient: 0.9419); sensitivity was of 79.3% and specificity of 84.4%. Conclusions. These results indicate that the BAL has been a potentially useful tool for the diagnose of the type of aphasia and it has been sensitiveto evolutionary changes in sub-acute stages of language disorders
