Objective: To know the usefulness of the Modified Mini- Mental State Exam (3MS) as a screening test of cognitive function after stroke and the relationship between the 3MS with clock drawing task (CDT) and the 3MS with visual scan task (VST) in view of visual neglect and functional outcome.
Method: We studied 17 patients with unilateral hemisphere stroke [7 right hemisphere stroke (RHS), 10 left hemisphere stroke (LHS)] who have a mean age of 59.4 years and a mean hospital stay of 34.3 days on final examination. None of them had the previous history of mental illness or the previous stroke attack. We performed the MMSE, 3MS, VST and CDT at the first week of onset of stroke and at discharge.
Results: 1) 3MS was a valuable screening test of cognitive function like MMSE (p＜0.05) in both RHS and LHS groups. 2) VST was a valuable screening method of unilateral neglect in patients with normal 3MS (p＜0.05). 3) CDT was also valuable screening method of unilateral neglect in patients with normal 3MS (p＜0.05). 4) 3MS with CDT showed no significant correlation with FIM score (p＞0.05).
Conclusion: We think that 3MS is a valuable screening test of cognitive function after stroke. VST and CDTs are valuable screening tools in estimating unilateral neglect after stroke. But 3MS with CDT is not well correlated with functional outcome. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2002; 26: 237-242)
