Validity of the Kaufman Short Neuropsychological Assessment Procedure (KSNAP)

Abstract

The sensitivity and specificity of the Kaufman Short Neuropsychological Assessment Procedure (KSNAP; Kaufman and Kaufman, 1994) with regard to the presence or absence of neurocognitive impairment were evaluated in a series of consecutive rehabilitation admissions; including 25 patients with left-hemisphere stroke (LS), 25 patients with right-hemisphere stroke (RS), and 25 control patients with various conditions but without stroke or other cerebral involvement (NS). The KSNAP demonstrated limited ability to discriminate patients with left, but not right, strokes from control participants. Number Recall was the only subtest that discriminated left from right stroke participants. In terms of the accuracy of the KSNAP with regard to the identification of cognitive status in stroke patients, overall specificity was good (92%) but sensitivity was poor (47%). It is concluded that great caution is needed when using the KSNAP for screening purposes, especially with inpatient stroke rehabilitation patients.