The feasibility study of Computer Cognitive Senior Assessment System-Screen (CoSAS-S) in critically ill patients with sepsis

Purpose: Early cognitive assessment in the intensive care unit (ICU) is essential to monitor cognitive dysfunction after critical illness. We have implemented a Computer Cognitive Senior Assessment System–Screen (CoSAS–S) which is a brief, objective, and tablet-based cognitive screening test as a mobile platform to detect any cognitive problems in ICUs. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and initial validation of a tablet-based CoSAS–S in critically ill patients with sepsis. Materials and methods: Thirty-six eligible patients completed CoSAS–S, Mini-Mental State Examination–Korean Version (MMSE–K) and Korean Version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (K-MoCA) for validity testing at the ICU. Results: Eighty-eight percent of programmed assessments were completed by the sample. Spearman correlations of the CoSAS–S with MMSE–K (rho = 0.613–0.874, p < 0.00) and K–MoCA scores (rho = 0.666–0.897, p < 0.001) were moderate to high. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of total CoSAS–S score between two raters was 0.93 (p < 0.001; 95% CI = 0.82–0.97), suggesting the inter-rater reliability of CoSAS-S was excellent. Conclusions: Support was found for the feasibility and validity of CoSAS-S. The application of CoSAS-S could identify the cognitive functioning of the patients. Utility of CoSAS-S in other clinical populations should be tested.