Battery of neuropsychological tests on ALI survivors delivered via the telephone

The American Thoracic Society developed and used a telephone battery of standardized neuropsychological tests to assess a subset of 122 long-term acute lung injury (ALI) survivors. They found that neuropsychological function can be assessed by telephone in a multi-center trial, that neuropsychological impairment is common in the patients, and that hypoxemia increases the risk for this impairment. Results showed that memory, verbal fluency, and executive function were impaired in 13, 16, and 49 percent of survivors, respectively, while cognitive impairment was found in 55 percent of survivors. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety were found in 36, 39, and 62 percent of long-term survivors. It was found that the use of conservative fluid-management strategy was associated with the development of cognitive impairment, and lower partial pressure of arterial oxygen was associated with an increased risk of both cognitive and psychiatric impairment.