Assessment of Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using the Rapid Cognitive Screen.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of cognitive impairment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients using the Rapid Cognitive Screen (RCS).

DESIGN: Cross sectional study.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 106 men and women with COPD 50 years of age or older.

SETTING: Pulmonary ambulatory clinic in a tertiary academic center in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

MEASUREMENTS: We enrolled patients with COPD who completed the RCS tool. Patients were classified as having normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia if they scored ≥ 8, 6-7, or ≤ 5, respectively. The prevalence of each category was measured, and patients' baseline characteristics were compared.

RESULTS: One hundred and six patients completed the RCS. Of those, 36 (33.9%) patients scored ≤ 5 on the RCS, 33 (31.1%) scored 6 or 7, and 37 (34.9%) scored ≥ 8. The prevalence of dementia, MCI, and normal cognition were 33.9%, 31.1%, and 34.9%, respectively. Baseline lung function was not different between patients with normal cognition and those with abnormal cognition (FEV1 1.53 ± 0.39 vs 1.45 ± 0.32 L). In patients with abnormal cognition, there was no difference in patients' characteristics between patients with MCI or dementia.

CONCLUSION: Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent in patients with COPD. RCS successfully identified cognitive impairment in COPD. We recommend performing RCS in patients with COPD routinely.