The use of the neurobehavioral cognitive status examination with geriatric rehabilitation patients

Objective: To provide normative data for 3 commonly encountered rehabilitation diagnostic groups and examine demographic influences on the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE, now called Cognistat). Design: Normative data are presented along with correlational associations to demographic variables. Analysis of variance was used to examine test scores between the 3 diagnostic groups. Participants: Eighty-six urban geriatric rehabilitation patients (34 recent total joint replacements, 22 with general medical conditions, and 30 with diagnosed neurological disorders). Results: Scores on many of the NCSE scales are associated with level of education. Five subtests evidenced performance differences between the joint replacement and neurologic groups. Conclusions: The NCSE has utility in detecting cognitive dysfunction with geriatric rehabilitation patients, although caution is suggested in NCSE interpretation in a lesser educated, older population because of educational effects on test performance.