Assessment of executive function in patients with mild traumatic brain injury

Background: The nature of functional deficit after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) defined by Glasgow Coma Score of 13-15 is not fully described. This study explored the sensitivity of several neuropsychological tests to identify sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Eleven adult patients with mild TBI admitted to a Level 1 trauma center were studied. The battery of tests included the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised: Mazes Subtest, Trails A and B, the Boston Naming Test, The Multilingual Aphasia Examination: Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task. Results: Control subjects performed significantly better than patients with mild TBI on Trails A and B, the Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (subtests 2-4). No significant differences in performances between patients and controls was found for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised: Mazes Subtest, Boston Naming Test, and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task Subtest Conclusion: The results suggest that tests of specific frontal lobe executive functions are valuable in diagnosing and monitoring recovery from mild TBI.