title: The Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment in persons with mild subacute stroke: relationship to functional outcome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) global and subscores in classifying cognitive impairment in persons with mild stroke and to explore the relationship between admission and discharge functional status and improvement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Acute rehabilitation unit of a large urban university-affiliated hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inpatients with stroke (N=72; mean age, 70y; median time poststroke, 8.5d) and mild neurologic (median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 4) and cognitive deficits (median MMSE score, 25).
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Admission cognitive status was assessed by using the MMSE and MoCA. The motor subscale of the FIM instrument (mFIM) and motor relative functional efficiency was used to assess discharge functional status and improvement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MoCA classified more persons as cognitively impaired than the MMSE (89% vs 63%, respectively; using a cutoff score of 27 on the MMSE and 26 on the MoCA). The MoCA also showed less of a ceiling effect than the MMSE, higher internal reliability (Cronbach α=.78 compared with α=.60), and marginally stronger associations with discharge functional status (r=.40; P<.001) than the MMSE (r=0.30; P<.05). The MoCA visuoexecutive subscore was the strongest predictor of functional status (P=.01) and improvement (P=.02) in global and subscores for both tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MoCA may be an important cognitive screening tool for persons with stroke and mild cognitive dysfunction on an acute rehabilitation unit. Lower visuoexecutive subscores may assist in identifying persons at risk for decreased functional gains in self-care and mobility (mFIM) during inpatient rehabilitation. The findings justify further validation studies of the MoCA in persons with subacute stroke.
authors.affiliation: Mercy College, 555 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522, USA. jtoglia@mercy.edu
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toglia
authors.forename: Kerri A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: O'Dell
authors.forename: Andrea R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mastrogiovanni
authors.forename: C David
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*