Asunto(s)
Hipertensión Portal/cirugía , Venas Yugulares , Planificación de Atención al Paciente , Derivación Portosistémica Quirúrgica/enfermería , Humanos , Hipertensión Portal/enfermería , Hipertensión Portal/fisiopatología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Derivación Portosistémica Quirúrgica/instrumentación , Derivación Portosistémica Quirúrgica/métodos , Cuidados PosoperatoriosRESUMEN
We studied psychometric properties of the Digit Span test and its nonverbal counterpart, the Knox Cube test, with reference to their utility in the clinical assessment of the elderly. Subjects were 100 residents of residential homes and semi-independent housing projects, aged 68 to 94. An administration of Digit Span with three trials per sequence length provides high reliability and minimizes floor effects, allowing separate interpretation of the Forward and Backward conditions. Due to its low internal consistency, the Knox Cube test cannot reliably distinguish differences among normal subjects, but may still be useful to detect impairment. Using regression equations, the Forward Digit Span score can be corrected for education level and both Digit Backward and Knox Cubes can be compared with Digit Span Forward.
Asunto(s)
Anciano/psicología , Atención , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas , Femenino , Evaluación Geriátrica , Humanos , Masculino , Memoria a Corto Plazo , PsicometríaRESUMEN
Designated as Mental Control, the recitation of word lists and arithmetic progressions is often used for a cursory examination of attention and concentration in elderly patients. We studied the psychometric properties of the EMCT (Expanded Mental Control Test), which consists of 12 mental control tasks. The test was given to 174 residents of rest homes and semi-independent housing projects (aged 68 to 94) and 74 neurologic patients (aged 65 to 87) who had been referred for neuropsychological assessment. The reliability of the EMCT was satisfactory. Performance was related to education level but not to sex or age. In healthy subjects the EMCT score was associated with the backward digit span score. The correlations between the EMCT and subtests of the Amsterdam Dementia Screening (Ads6) in patients appeared to depend on the complexity of the target behavior. Performance on the EMCT may reflect the functioning of the Supervisory Attentional System postulated by Shallice.