OBJECTIVES: : The aim was to assess how the use of a commercially available hearing augmentation device affected performance on cognitive assessment scales on admission to hospital. DESIGN: : This was a randomized controlled trial. SETTING: : The study was conducted on all of the acute assessment wards in a department of medicine for the elderly. PARTICIPANTS: : All patients admitted to the department from December 1, 2007, until February 28, 2008, were considered for admission to the study. Patients with delirium were excluded. INTERVENTION: : A commercially available device provided hearing augmentation in the intervention group on the second day. MEASUREMENTS: : All participants had cognitive assessments using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) on two consecutive days. RESULTS: : A total of 192 patients (60.4% women, mean [±SD] age 82.4 [±7.0] years) were recruited and randomized into control (N = 58) or intervention groups (N = 134). Paired and unpaired t-tests were used to compare mean improvements in scores within and between groups, respectively. The mean improvement in MMSE scores was 2.00 (p <0.001) in the intervention group and 0.49 in the control group (p = 0.46), and the mean improvement in AMT scores was 0.48 (p <0.001) for the intervention group and 0.24 (p = 0.04) for the control group. In comparing mean improvements between groups, unpaired t-test results were significant for MMSE (p <0.001) but not for AMT (p = 0.23). These results were confirmed on repeated-measures ANOVA (group by time interaction). CONCLUSIONS: : Hearing augmentation significantly improves performance on MMSE scores. The use of hearing augmentation devices in routine screening for cognitive impairment merits further study.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: : The aim was to assess how the use of a commercially available hearing augmentation device affected performance on cognitive assessment scales on admission to hospital. DESIGN: : This was a randomized controlled trial. SETTING: : The study was conducted on all of the acute assessment wards in a department of medicine for the elderly. PARTICIPANTS: : All patients admitted to the department from December 1, 2007, until February 28, 2008, were considered for admission to the study. Patients with delirium were excluded. INTERVENTION: : A commercially available device provided hearing augmentation in the intervention group on the second day. MEASUREMENTS: : All participants had cognitive assessments using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) on two consecutive days. RESULTS: : A total of 192 patients (60.4% women, mean [±SD] age 82.4 [±7.0] years) were recruited and randomized into control (N = 58) or intervention groups (N = 134). Paired and unpaired t-tests were used to compare mean improvements in scores within and between groups, respectively. The mean improvement in MMSE scores was 2.00 (p <0.001) in the intervention group and 0.49 in the control group (p = 0.46), and the mean improvement in AMT scores was 0.48 (p <0.001) for the intervention group and 0.24 (p = 0.04) for the control group. In comparing mean improvements between groups, unpaired t-test results were significant for MMSE (p <0.001) but not for AMT (p = 0.23). These results were confirmed on repeated-measures ANOVA (group by time interaction). CONCLUSIONS: : Hearing augmentation significantly improves performance on MMSE scores. The use of hearing augmentation devices in routine screening for cognitive impairment merits further study.
Authors: Olivia Nirmalasari; Sara K Mamo; Carrie L Nieman; Allison Simpson; Jessica Zimmerman; Milap A Nowrangi; Frank R Lin; Esther S Oh Journal: Int Psychogeriatr Date: 2016-09-22 Impact factor: 3.878
Authors: Robert L Folmer; Jay J Vachhani; Sarah M Theodoroff; Rachel Ellinger; Amy Riggins Journal: Biomed Res Int Date: 2017-05-04 Impact factor: 3.411