The presence and prediction of lateralized inattention 7 years post-stroke.

OBJECTIVE: Lateralized inattention is a typical sign of neglect and related to poor functional outcome. Knowledge of the long-term course of this phenomenon is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate presence and predictors for signs of lateralized inattention 7 years after stroke. METHODS: From a cohort of acute ischemic stroke patients, aged 18-69 years (n = 297), a consecutive series of 188 survivors without recurrent stroke at follow-up 7 years later were included. Within the first week after stroke onset, stroke severity was assessed according to the Scandinavian Stroke Scale. Target omissions, asymmetry of omissions, and perceptual speed according to Star- and Letter Cancellation Tests were also assessed. Presence of lateralized inattention at the 7-year follow-up was investigated with the Star- and Letter Cancellation Tests and with the neglect item in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. RESULTS: At the follow-up, 22 (11.7%) participants had lateralized inattention and the multivariable regression showed that independent significant baseline predictors were total omissions in target cancellations (P < .001) and inferior baseline performance on visual processing speed (P = .008). CONCLUSION: About one of ten individuals exhibited signs of lateralized inattention 7 years after stroke. Baseline performance in perceptual processing speed and target omissions independently predicted presence of late signs of lateralized inattention. This is the first time processing speed is recognized as a significant predictor of lateralized inattention several years after the stroke incidence, indicating that the longitudinal course of processing speed following stroke is a critical subject for future research.

Ipsilesional bias and processing speed are important predictors of functional dependency in the neglect phenomenon after a right hemisphere stroke.

Visuospatial neglect (VSN) predicts unfavorable functional outcome in stroke patients. This study examined the relative importance of different core symptoms of VSN as predictors of functional dependency. A consecutive series of 105 right hemisphere stroke patients were tested early after stroke on three basic symptoms of VSN (omissions, asymmetry of omissions and ipsilesional bias of attention) and on two symptoms related to VSN (processing speed and repetitive target detections in visual search). Neurological deficits were also assessed. Functional outcome was measured 3 months and 2 years after stroke with the modified Rankin Scale. Univariate analyses revealed significant relationships with functional outcome for both core and related symptoms of VSN and for neurological deficits. Area under the curve statistics and stepwise logistic regressions showed that the most important predictors assessed early after stroke were presence of ipsilesional bias for dependency at 3 months and visual processing speed for dependency at 2 years after stroke. These results show that valuable prognostic information regarding dependency after right hemisphere stroke can be obtained by assessing fundamental sub-components of VSN early after stroke. The development of standardized clinical methods for investigation of sub-components, such as a right capture of attention and processing speed, is essential.