Feasibility of Early Assessment of Cognitive Deficits in Patients With Ventilation Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Frederick V Ahlhaus, Marcus Vollmer, Michael Schröder and 2 others
PMID 41834813WHAT IT FOUND
Among 28 ICU patients after sepsis and ventilation, reaction-speed tests showed severe attention deficits.
Early testing was inconsistent; 27 of 28 could be tested by 14 days after awakening.
Key findings
01Only 28 of 60 patients who met inclusion criteria had data available for analysis, and only 3 of 28 could be assessed in modules beyond alertness.
02Reaction-speed alertness tests showed severe impairment: mean scores were −3 for tonic alertness and −2.31 for phasic alertness, and 10 patients reached the maximum impairment score.
03Early testing was inconsistent: 26 of 28 patients could be tested only after their sedation score reached 0, and 27 of 28 could be tested by 14 days.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The analysis included only 28 of the 60 patients who met inclusion criteria, so it may not represent the wider ICU group. The sample was small, single-center, and convenience-based, and the study could not control confounding factors. Most patients had severe sepsis or septic shock and were postoperative, so results may not apply to milder sepsis or non-surgical patients. Only alertness was tested for most patients, so other cognitive domains were not measured. Testing was done on weekdays only, so days-to-testing variables may be inaccurate by up to 2 days. The study did not compare patients with a control group or test a treatment, so it cannot show that sepsis caused the deficits or that rehabilitation improves outcomes.
Declared interests
Hasomed provided the RehaCom device for the study. One author gives lectures for companies on the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis (Biomeriex, Sysmex, BD). The other authors have nothing to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that early cognitive testing or rehabilitation improves recovery. This study did not deliver a treatment or compare groups receiving different care. It measured alertness in 28 analysed patients after sepsis and ventilation, and many eligible patients could not be tested early.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →