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Screening for apraxia: a short assessment for stroke patients
Quincy J Almeida1, Sandra E Black, Eric A Roy
1Department of Cognitive Neurology, Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. qalmeida@sten.sunnybrook.utoronto.ca
Brain and Cognition
|May 28, 2002
Summary
This study developed a brief screening tool for apraxia (impaired learned movements) in stroke patients. Five specific gestures effectively identified apraxia, offering a faster assessment method.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Movement Disorders
- Neurorehabilitation
Background:
- Apraxia is a complex motor disorder affecting previously learned movements.
- Standard apraxia assessments are time-consuming, necessitating efficient screening tools, especially for stroke survivors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a shortened, sensitive screening method for detecting apraxia in stroke patients.
- To identify a minimal set of gestures that effectively differentiate between stroke patients with and without apraxia.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of gesture production (pantomiming and imitation) between stroke patients (N=37) and healthy controls (N=30).
- Assessment included transitive (tool-related) and intransitive (communication-related) gestures.
- Statistical analysis (Z-scores) determined the optimal combination of gestures for screening.
Main Results:
- Stroke patients demonstrated significantly poorer accuracy in performing five specific gestures (knife, flipper, tweezers, okay sign, cab hailing) compared to controls.
- These five gestures collectively provided a sensitive measure for detecting apraxia.
Conclusions:
- A concise set of five gestures can effectively screen for apraxia in stroke patients.
- This shortened method facilitates efficient surveillance and early detection of apraxia in clinical settings.
- The findings support the use of this screening tool for improved patient management and rehabilitation planning.