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Verbal Recall After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Sensitivity of the Rapid Screen of Concussion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Karleigh Jayne Kwapil*
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Australia
Gina Geffen
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Australia
Ken McFarland
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Australia
Veronica Eileen DeMonte
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Karleigh Kwapil, Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, University of Queensland, Edith Cavell Building, Medical School, Herston Road, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia. Email: k.kwapil@psy.uq.edu.au
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Abstract

The present study aimed to determine whether including a sensitive test of immediate and delayed recall would improve the diagnostic validity of the Rapid Screen of Concussion (RSC) in mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) versus orthopaedic clinical samples. Two studies were undertaken. In Study 1, the performance of 156 mTBI and 145 orthopaedic participants was analysed to identify the number of individuals who performed at ceiling on the verbal memory subtest of the RSC, as this test required immediate and delayed recall of only five words. A second aim was to determine the sensitivity and specificity levels of the RSC. Study 2 aimed to examine whether replacement of the verbal memory subtest with the 12-word Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) could improve the sensitivity of the RSC in a new sample of 26 mTBI and 30 orthopaedic participants. Both studies showed that orthopaedic participants outperformed mTBI participants on each of the selected measures. Study 1 showed that 14% of mTBI participants performed at ceiling on the immediate and 21.2% on delayed recall test. Performance on the original battery yielded a sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 80% and overall correct classification of 81.5% participants. In Study 2, inclusion of the HVLT improved sensitivity to a level of 88.5%, decreased specificity to a level of 70% and resulted in an overall classification rate of 80%. It was concluded that although inclusion of the five-word subtest in the RSC can successfully distinguish concussed from non-concussed individuals, use of the HVLT in this protocol yields a more sensitive measure of subtle cognitive deficits following mTBI.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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