A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN PATIENTS WITH CANCER UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY

Basavanna P. L.*, Mukesh S., Jijo Joji, Harsh Angadi and Balaji M. N.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Cognitive impairment refers to persistent deficits in the brain’s ability to function effectively, which can negatively impact an individual’s normal functioning. Chemo fog can be defined as the impairment of a patient's memory, learning, concentration, reasoning, executive function, attention, during and after discontinuing chemotherapy. Methods: A prospective observational study on assessment of cognitive impairment in patients undergoing chemotherapy, where the data was analysed by using Mini-mental scale examination (MMSE) for literate and Hindi mental status examination (HMSE) for illiterate patients for cognitive impairment. Results: A total of 150 patients, who were on chemotherapy were included in the review. Assessment of cognitive impairment was done using mmse scale, where a total of 9 severe cognitively impaired patients were present. 63 mild cognitively impaired patients and no cognitive impairment was found in 78 patients. Conclusion: the development of cognitive impairment is multifactorial with contributing factors including aging, comorbidities, and low haemoglobin levels, underlying cancer and cancer treatment as well as genetic risk factors of the individual, which in turn reduces the quality of life of the patient.

Keywords: Cognitive impairment, MMSE, HMSE, CICI.