title: [Psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score normalization data for the Portuguese population].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy (MHE) has been associated to changes in life quality and in the aptitude to drive vehicles, to the appearance of an explicit form of Hepatic Encephalopathy and to a worst prognosis, including a high mortality risk. In this context, the early detection of this condition will lead to the reduction of its consequences. The Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES) consists in five easily applicable and scored tasks including the Trail Making Test A and B, the Digit Symbol Test, the Serial Dotting Test and the Line Drawing Test. The use of the PHES is recommended by the International Society for Hepatic Encephalopathy and Nitrogen Metabolism, for the MHE diagnosis and monitorization, as long as local translations and normative data are available. The main objective of the present study is the PHES normalization for the Portuguese Population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The tasks that compose the PHES were applied to 115 healthy subjects from four districts of the north of Portugal. Variables like age, gender, education years and the profession type were study in relation to the obtained results through the use of Student's t test and Pearson's correlation. In order to build the normality tables the linear regression was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age and education years were the independent variables more related to the performance on the five tasks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The availability of the normality tables will allow the MEH diagnosis in Portuguese patients with hepatic cirrhosis using an objective and internationally recommended method.
authors: Departamento de Psicologia, Neuropsicologia Clínica, Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde-Norte, CESPU, crl, Gandra, Unidade de Investigação em Psicologia e Saúde, Porto, Portugal.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Pinho
authors: Rute
authors: R
authors: Cerqueira
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Peixoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011174:Portugal; D011594:Psychometrics