The mini-Oxford cognitive screen (Mini-OCS): A very brief cognitive screen for use in chronic stroke

No stroke-specific cognitive screen currently exists for community-dwelling chronic stroke survivors, with primary care and community settings relying on dementia tools which often do not consider specific post-stroke impairments. The Oxford Cognitive Screen (OCS) was developed for use in acute stroke, but its administration time is prohibitive for brief screening. Here, we aimed to develop, standardise and psychometrically validate the Mini-Oxford Cognitive Screen (Mini-OCS), a brief (<8 min) cognitive screen aimed for use in chronic stroke.

Existing full OCS data for 464 English participants who were ⩾6 months post-stroke were analysed for the possibility of a short-form. Theoretical choices were made to adapt the short-form to be suitable for use in chronic stroke. The Mini-OCS was then completed by 164 neurologically healthy controls (M_age = 68.66; SD = 12.18, M_years of education 15.40; SD = 3.64, 61% female), and 89 chronic stroke survivors (M_age = 69.86; SD = 14.83, M_years education = 14.29; SD = 4.01, 44.94% female, M_days since stroke = 597.02; SD = 881.12, 78.57% ischaemic, Median NIHSS = 6.5 (IQR = 4-11)). In addition, the original OCS, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and an extended neuropsychological battery were administered. Psychometric properties of the Mini-OCS were evaluated via construct validity and retest reliability.

Normative data for the Mini-OCS is provided and known-group discrimination demonstrates increased sensitivity in the memory and executive function domains compared to the OCS. The Mini-OCS further met all appropriate benchmarks for evidence of retest reliability and construct validity.

The Mini-OCS is a short-form standardised cognitive screening tool with initial evidence of good psychometric properties for use in a chronic stroke population.