Improving the diagnostic accuracy of the RBANS in mild cognitive impairment with construct-consistent measures

Research on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) has suggested that it has somewhat limited sensitivity in the differentiation of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from patients with dementia and elderly patients with no neurologic or psychiatric diagnoses. This study sought to increase the diagnostic utility of the RBANS in differentiating between patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), MCI, and no diagnosis (ND) with the addition of construct comparable neuropsychological test measures. Diagnostic utility was assessed by comparing patients diagnosed with MCI to patients diagnosed with AD as well as to the ND group. The following cognitive domains were investigated: short-term memory, retention and long-term memory, language, attention, visuoconstruction, and overall cognitive functioning. Stepwise logistic regressions found that in the comparisons between MCI and ND, the Step 2 addition of construct comparable neuropsychological measures provided a significant diagnostic increase in the short-term memory and overall cognitive functioning models. In the comparisons between MCI and AD, the Step 2 additions provided a significant diagnostic increase in the short-term memory, visuoconstruction, and overall cognitive functioning models. Results suggested that the inclusion of construct similar neuropsychological tests significantly increases the diagnostic accuracy of the RBANS when attempting to identify more subtle cognitive deficits inherent in MCI.