Poster 40 Comparing Patients With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury to Trauma Controls on CNS Vital Signs

Abstract

To compare performance on a computerized neuropsychological test battery, CNS Vital Signs (CNS-VS), in a sample of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and trauma controls. Quasi-Experimental, Two-Group, Between-Subjects Design. Participants were 50 patients who met the WHO Collaborating Center Task Force criteria for MTBI and 31 trauma controls. Groups were similar in age, years of education, and estimated intellectual ability. A substantial minority (28%) of the MTBI group had a trauma-related abnormality on day-of-injury CT (i.e., a “complicated MTBI”). Participants were recruited from the Emergency Department of Vancouver General Hospital. The CNS-VS, which generates a Neurocognition Index (NCI) and five primary domain scores, was administered approximately six to eight weeks post injury. Differences in mean performance were examined with a MANOVA and exploratory ANOVAs. Differences in the frequency of low scores at four cutoffs (1SD, <10th percentile, ≤5th percentile, and there was no significant difference between groups for the NCI. A MANOVA using the five domain scores did not reveal statistically significant differences between the groups. Moreover, there were no group differences on any of the domain scores on exploratory ANOVAs. The frequencies of low scores at each cutoff, although more common in the MTBI sample, were not statistically different. At the group level, participants with MTBI did not differ on computerized testing when compared to trauma controls six to eight weeks following injury.