StrokeCog-15 Is an Efficient Neuropsychological Battery to Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Stroke

BACKGROUND: Poststroke cognitive impairment can significantly impact functional outcomes and quality of life. While comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations are valuable in characterizing this impairment, their time-intensive nature is not always feasible. Thus, we set out to develop a brief cognitive battery that is sensitive to poststroke cognitive impairment. METHODS: Neuropsychological testing was completed in a validation sample of 126 participants with chronic ischemic stroke (median days since stroke, 337 [interquartile range, 235–1057]) as part of StrokeCog, a prospective observational cohort study. This comprehensive 60-minute cognitive battery contained 9 tests covering 5 cognitive domains. A partial least square regression analysis informed the selection of a brief, 15-minute battery of 4 tests (StrokeCog-15) covering 4 cognitive domains: language, memory, working memory, and processing speed/executive functioning. We then compared StrokeCog-15 with Montreal Cognitive Assessment and an established 30-minute battery in its ability to detect cognitive impairment as identified by the comprehensive battery. Finally, we assessed the utility of StrokeCog-15 in an external validation sample of 61 participants (median days since stroke, 210 [interquartile range, 193–230]) enrolled in the parallel Stroke-IMPaCT study. RESULTS: Cognitive impairment was common, occurring in 50% (n=61) and 66% (n=40) of the 2 cohorts. Deficits occurred most frequently in the memory and processing speed/executive functioning domains. In the derivation sample, StrokeCog-15 demonstrated high sensitivity (0.97) and adequate specificity (0.78) in detecting cognitive impairment on the comprehensive battery, outperforming both Montreal Cognitive Assessment (sensitivity, 0.77; specificity, 0.73) and the 30-minute battery (sensitivity, 0.97; specificity, 0.35). StrokeCog-15 similarly demonstrated high sensitivity (0.93) and adequate specificity (0.67) in the validation sample. CONCLUSIONS: A brief 15-minute battery of tests has high sensitivity to detect cognitive impairment as identified on a longer neuropsychological test battery. StrokeCog-15 assesses multiple cognitive domains commonly impacted by stroke and represents an efficient yet effective means to identify chronic poststroke cognitive impairment.