Incomplete improvement of visuo-motor deficits in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy after liver transplantation.
Liver Transpl
; 10(1): 77-83, 2004 Jan.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-14755782
ABSTRACT
Previous studies have suggested reversibility of minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis after liver transplantation (LT), however, this topic is controversially discussed. We investigated this issue in a prospective study on liver cirrhotic patients listed for LT. Patients were investigated before and after liver transplantation (on average 21 months later) using a neuropsychological test battery which measured visuo-constructive and visuo-motor ability, verbal fluency, and memory function. To assess visuo-motor and visuo-constructive functions, we performed 4 tests Rey Complex Figure Test copy, trail making tests A and B, and digital symbol test. The average percentile score of the tests, arbitrarily named the visuo-motor and visuo-constructive performance score (VMCP), was calculated. After LT, the patients did not demonstrate a significant increase of VMCP (P =.29) and additionally showed significantly lower VMCP score (P =.041) compared to control group. Analysis of individual responses showed that only 7 of 14 patients improved their VMCP values after LT. These data indicate that the cirrhosis-associated visuo-motor deficits subside or disappear only in some of the patients after LT, whereas a significant number of patients show no improvement of the visuo-motor and visuo-constructive function. We concluded that monitoring of cognitive and visuo-motor functioning is important for the post-transplant rehabilitation of patients with liver cirrhosis.
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Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Habla
/
Encefalopatía Hepática
/
Trasplante de Hígado
/
Trastornos del Conocimiento
/
Destreza Motora
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Liver Transpl
Asunto de la revista:
GASTROENTEROLOGIA
/
TRANSPLANTE
Año:
2004
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Austria