Article

Information on cognitive impairment in aphasic
patients is limited.
Our aim was to investigate the prevalence and course of
nonlinguistic cognitive impairments in the first year after stroke and their
association with aphasia and functional outcome.
METHODS: We included 147
patients with acute aphasia. At 3 months and 1 year, we assessed cognition with a
nonlinguistic cognitive examination including abstract reasoning, visual memory,
visual perception and construction, and executive functioning. We assessed
language with a verbal communication rating (Aphasia Severity Rating Scale), the
ScreeLing (a linguistic-level screening test), and the Token Test. We evaluated
functional outcome with the modified Rankin scale and registered the use of
antidepressants. RESULTS: In total, 107 (88%) patients had impairments in at
least one nonlinguistic cognitive domain at 3 months and 91 (80%) at 1 year. The
most frequently observed impairment concerned visual memory (83% at 3 months; 78%
at 1 year) and the least frequent visual perception and construction (19% at 3
months; 14% at 1 year). There was improvement on all cognitive domains including
language, except for abstract reasoning. Patients with persisting aphasia had
lower cognitive domain scores, worse functional outcome, and were more often
depressed than patients who had recovered from aphasia. CONCLUSIONS: Standard
nonlinguistic cognitive examination is recommended in aphasic stroke patients.
Nonlinguistic cognitive impairments are common and associated with poor
functional outcome and depression, especially in patients with persisting
aphasia.

Langue : ANGLAIS