Sammanfattning
Background: People with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) commonly experience cognitive
impairments. Occupational therapists working in acute general hospitals in Australia routinely access
client Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, and assess cognitive status using standardized tools and
by observing basic activity of daily living (ADL) performance. However, limited evidence exists to
identify the best assessment(s) to determine client cognitive status. Aim/objectives To determine
whether cognitive status assessed by GCS score and the Cognistat are predictive of basic ADL
performance among clients with mTBI in an acute general hospital and make inferences concerning
the clinical utility of these assessment tools. Material and methods: Retrospective analysis of
medical record data on demographics, Cognistat, GCS, and modified Barthel Index (MBI) using
descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and linear regression. Results: Data analysis of 166
participants demonstrated that no associations exist between GCS and Cognistat scores, or Cognistat
scores and MBI dependency level. The presence of co-morbid multi-trauma injuries and length of
stay were the only variables that significantly predicted MBI dependency level. Conclusion and
significance: While the MBI scores are of value in identifying clients with difficulty in basic ADLs,
Cognistat and GCS scores are of limited use in differentiating client levels of cognitive impairment
and the authors caution against the routine administration of the Cognistat following mTBI. Further
research is required to identify more suitable assessments for use with a mTBI population.