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Neuropsychological Assessment in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comprehensive Review with Clinical
William Torregrossa1, Michele Torrisi1, Rosaria De Luca1
1IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino Pulejo", Via Palermo Cda Casazza, SS113, 98124 Messina, Italy.
Insights
This review guides clinicians in selecting appropriate neurocognitive assessment tools for traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. It details scales for acute, post-acute, and chronic TBI phases to personalize rehabilitation strategies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can impair cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functions.
- Neuropsychological evaluations are crucial for assessing TBI patients, aiding diagnosis and treatment planning.
- Selecting the most suitable assessment tool for diverse TBI conditions presents a challenge due to numerous available scales.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and describe commonly used neurocognitive assessment tools for TBI patients.
- To provide clinicians with clear guidance on tool selection for clinical practice.
- To support personalized rehabilitation approaches for individuals with TBI.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of neurocognitive assessment tools used in TBI.
- Categorization of tools based on TBI phases (acute, post-acute, chronic).
- Description of specific assessment scales and their applications.
Main Results:
- During the acute phase, scales like the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised assess disorders of consciousness.
- Post-acute and chronic phases utilize general tools (e.g., Mini Mental State Examination) or specific tests (e.g., Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Trail Making Test).
- Tool selection depends on the patient's functional status and TBI phase.
Conclusions:
- Appropriate neurocognitive assessment is vital for tailoring TBI rehabilitation.
- Understanding the utility of different scales enables effective patient management.
- This review offers practical guidance for clinicians managing TBI patients.
Abstract:
Traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain occurring after birth, often resulting in the deterioration of cognitive, behavioural, and emotional functions. Neuropsychological evaluation can assist clinicians to better assess the patient's clinical condition, reach differential diagnoses, and develop interventional strategies. However, considering the multiple rating scales available, it is not easy to establish which tool is most suitable for the different brain injury conditions. The aim of this review is to investigate and describe the most used neurocognitive assessment tools in patients with traumatic brain injury to provide clinicians with clear indications on their use in clinical practice. Indeed, during the acute phase, after the head trauma, alertness and wakefulness of the patients affected by a disorder of consciousness can be assessed using different scales, such as the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. In both postacute and chronic phases after traumatic brain injury, general cognitive assessment tools (such as the Mini Mental State Examination) or more specific cognitive tests (e.g., Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Trail Making Test) could be administered according to the patient's functional status. In this way, clinicians may be aware of the patient's neuropsychological and cognitive level, so they can guarantee a personalized and tailored rehabilitation approach in this frail patient population.
