Italian normative data for a stroke specific cognitive screening tool: the Oxford Cognitive Screen (OCS).

Cognitive deficits occur in most stroke patients and cognitive impairment is an important predictor of adverse long term outcome. However, current screening measures, such as the Mini Mental State Examination or the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, do not provide information tuned for evaluating the impact of cognitive impairment in the early phase after stroke. The Oxford Cognitive Screen (OCS) represents an important new development in this regard. The OCS is now available for assessment of Italian individuals and the aim of this study is to standardize the OCS on a large sample of healthy Italian participants stratified for age, gender and education level. Results confirmed the influence of these factors in several of the OCS tasks. Age-, education- and gender-adjusted norms are provided for the ten sub-tests of the test. The availability of normative data represents an important prerequite for the reliable use of OCS with stroke patients.

Stimulating visual exploration of the neglected space in the early stage of stroke by hemifield eye-patching: a randomized controlled trial in patients with right brain damage.

BACKGROUND: It has been well established that the presence of neglect is a predictor of poor functional outcome after stroke. Most rehabilitation studies on neglect have been performed with at least two months post-stroke. However, a recent series of stroke management indications highlight the importance of early rehabilitation treatment and evidence regarding neglect rehabilitation in the early phase after stroke is needed. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of right half-field patches in treating neglect in patients during the early phase of stroke. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Acute care setting in an urban general hospital. POPULATION: Eighteen patients with left unilateral neglect recruited among 56 patients consecutively admitted with right hemispheric stroke. METHODS: The patients were evaluated at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at a 7-day follow-up. The experimental group received right half-field patch treatment (n=10) for approximately 8 hours a day for 15 consecutive days. The control group received visual scanning training (n=8) for 40 minutes every weekday in a 15 day period. RESULTS: Both groups significantly improved their performance in all outcome measures. No difference in the amount of improvement between the two groups was found. CONCLUSION: Right half-field eye patching could be a promising technique for treating visual spatial neglect during the early stages of stroke. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: The eye-patching technique may represent an easily applicable and inexpensive method for neglect rehabilitation in the early stage after stroke.