A descriptive study of cognitive status in acute motor stroke

Stroke, or brain attack, is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of disability in the rapidly aging population. Cognitive status after one particular type of brain attack, motor stroke, has received minimal attention. Intact cognition assists in recovery following stroke; therefore, cognitive status is of great interest to clinicians and researchers. The purpose of this study, part of a larger study of functional recovery following motor stroke, was to describe the cognitive status of 100 patients during the acute phase of care. Cognitive status was measured using two instruments: the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE). This study provides a rich description of the cognitive status of a group of individuals who suffered a motor stroke. Clinicians, including neuroscience nurses, need to use appropriate tools (such as the NCSE) to assess for and address specific cognitive deficits in the areas of memory and constructional ability and to recognize similarities following motor stroke.