The hunter and the pianist: two hepatic encephalopathy tales.
Details of 2 patients with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy whose hobby or job were possibly responsible for a selectively enhanced performance in 1 neuropsychiatric test are reported. Clinicians should be alert to the fact that personal inclinations and habits may impinge on both neuropsychological and psychophysic performance, thus producing a mismatch between the results of different mental status tests. A prospective study with accurate history taking, use of comprehensive assessment protocols, and modeling/critical interpretation of the test results is required to confirm this hypothesis.
Montagnese
Sara
S
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padua, Italy. sara.montagnese@unipd.it
Cona
Giorgia
G
Schiff
Sami
S
Maresio
Giulio
G
Gatta
Angelo
A
Merkel
Carlo
C
Amodio
Piero
P
D000328:Adult; D005425:Flicker Fusion; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D011998:Recreation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index