The preliminary research on the characteristics of cognitive function and its related factors in patients with severe traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Objective To investigate the characteristics of cognitive function in patients who suffered from severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) at 3 months after treatment,and study the relationship between the characteristics and its related factors.Methods Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA),Loewenstein occupational therapy cognitive assessment (LOTCA),mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scales were used to evaluate cognitive function in 30 normal individuals (control group) and in 21 patients who suffered from unilateral decompression craniectomy and hematoma and (or) contusion foci removed for decompression (sTBI group).The relationship between the results and its related factors was analyzed by multivariate statistical methods.Results All the scores of cognitive function assessment at 3 months aftercuring in sTBI group were significantly lower than those in control group,the ability of computing,repetition and fluency of language,logical thinking,attention,delayed memories,abstraction in patients with left hemisphere injury were significantly lower,while the ability of visuospatial and watch test,spatial perception,organization in patients with fight hemisphere injury were significantly lower.Multivariate statistics showed that age(r ＝ -0.722,P＜ 0.01 ),injury parts(r ＝ 0.607,P＜ 0.01 ),and the level of education (r ＝ 0.733,P ＜ 0.01 ) had significant impact on the overall cognitive function.Conclusion Cognitive dysfunction after sTBI is closely related with age,injury parts and the level of education. Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Cognition discorders; Influence factors