• Seung Don Yoo, Dong Hwan Kim, Gook Ki Kim, and Jihea Bark.
• Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 134-727, Korea.
• Ann Rehabil Med. 2011 Oct 1;35(5):680-6.

ObjectiveTo evaluate characteristics of cognitive impairments according to the location of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) using a computerized neuropsychological test (CNT).MethodA total of 211 patients were transferred to our rehabilitation department after becoming neurologically stable following aneurysmal SAH. Twenty four of the 211 patients met the inclusion criteria and participated in a screening test using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE). Twenty patients with a MMSE score <26 were followed prospectively with a CNT and Beck depression inventory (BDI). Eleven patients had anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms and the other 9 had middle cerebral, internal carotid or posterior communicating artery aneurysms.ResultsThere were no differences in age, education, Hunt and Hess grade, or Fisher grade between the patients with ACoA aneurysmal SAH compared to patients with other aneurysmal SAH. In patients with ACoA aneurysmal SAH, scores of BDI (p=0.020), verbal learning test were lower than those of other aneurysmal SAH patients. In contrast, patients with non-ACoA aneurysmal SAH took significantly more time in auditory (p=0.025) and visual continuous performance tests (p=0.028). The cognitive deficit following aneurysmal SAH could be characterized by its location using CNT.ConclusionUsing CNT in aneurysmal SAH patients could be a useful tool for evaluating the characteristics of cognitive impairment and planning rehabilitation programs according to each characteristic.

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