QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis

Background & Aims: QuickStroop, a shortened version of the Stroop EncephalApp, has recently been proposed for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with cirrhosis in the USA. At present, there are no data on its clinical utility for MHE screening in patients in Europ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Christian Labenz, Simon J. Gairing, Leonard Kaps, Alena F. Ehrenbauer, Eva M. Schleicher, Sophie Mengel, Julius F.M. Egge, Maria M. Gabriel, Peter R. Galle, Heiner Wedemeyer, Alexander Zipprich, Cristina Ripoll, Robin Greinert, Benjamin Maasoumy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:JHEP Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589555924003021
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1823864245734866944
author Christian Labenz
Simon J. Gairing
Leonard Kaps
Alena F. Ehrenbauer
Eva M. Schleicher
Sophie Mengel
Julius F.M. Egge
Maria M. Gabriel
Peter R. Galle
Heiner Wedemeyer
Alexander Zipprich
Cristina Ripoll
Robin Greinert
Benjamin Maasoumy
author_facet Christian Labenz
Simon J. Gairing
Leonard Kaps
Alena F. Ehrenbauer
Eva M. Schleicher
Sophie Mengel
Julius F.M. Egge
Maria M. Gabriel
Peter R. Galle
Heiner Wedemeyer
Alexander Zipprich
Cristina Ripoll
Robin Greinert
Benjamin Maasoumy
author_sort Christian Labenz
collection DOAJ
description Background & Aims: QuickStroop, a shortened version of the Stroop EncephalApp, has recently been proposed for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with cirrhosis in the USA. At present, there are no data on its clinical utility for MHE screening in patients in Europe, and only limited data are available regarding its comparison to the Animal Naming Test (ANT). Methods: In total, 242 patients with cirrhosis without signs of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) ≥ grade 1 and no history of overt HE were included as the development cohort. Another independent cohort comprising 104 patients with cirrhosis from a different center served as a validation set. MHE was defined using the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) (PHES-MHE). All patients were tested with the complete EncephalApp Stroop. A subset was also tested with the ANT. Regression formulas were fitted for patients above and below the age of 60 years, including the first two off-state runs, age, and school education (QuickStroop). Results: PHES-MHE was detected in 76 (31%) patients. The first two off-state runs of the EncephalApp demonstrated a comparable discriminative ability to the complete Stroop test in distinguishing between patients with and without PHES-MHE. QuickStroop had a better discriminative ability in patients below than above the age of 60 years. The discriminative ability of QuickStroop (total cohort: AUC 0.88) was superior to ANT (AUC 0.70). QuickStroop predicted PHES-MHE with a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 89%, and took a median of only 34.5 s to complete. The acceptable discriminative ability of QuickStroop was confirmed in the validation cohort (AUC 0.81). Conclusion: QuickStroop is a rapid screening tool to identify patients at risk for PHES-MHE, especially in patients below 60 years of age. Impact and implications:: QuickStroop, a shortened version of the Stroop EncephalApp, has recently been proposed for screening for MHE in patients with cirrhosis in the USA. In this study, we validated QuickStroop for patients in Germany with cirrhosis and demonstrate a good diagnostic accuracy for detecting MHE, especially in patients below 60 years of age. Additionally, QuickStroop might be superior to the ANT in patients below 60 years of age. The use of QuickStroop in clinical practice could facilitate screening for MHE.
format Article
id doaj-art-70d66a6d437d477ea6fbd8654e00707b
institution Kabale University
issn 2589-5559
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series JHEP Reports
spelling doaj-art-70d66a6d437d477ea6fbd8654e00707b2025-02-09T05:01:00ZengElsevierJHEP Reports2589-55592025-03-0173101298QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosisChristian Labenz0Simon J. Gairing1Leonard Kaps2Alena F. Ehrenbauer3Eva M. Schleicher4Sophie Mengel5Julius F.M. Egge6Maria M. Gabriel7Peter R. Galle8Heiner Wedemeyer9Alexander Zipprich10Cristina Ripoll11Robin Greinert12Benjamin Maasoumy13Department of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany; Cirrhosis Center Mainz, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany; Corresponding author. Address: Department of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany. Tel: +49 6131 17 2380; Fax: +49 6131 17 477282.Department of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany; Cirrhosis Center Mainz, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, GermanyDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany; Cirrhosis Center Mainz, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, GermanyDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany; Cirrhosis Center Mainz, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, GermanyDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany; Cirrhosis Center Mainz, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, GermanyDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany; Cirrhosis Center Mainz, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, GermanyDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, GermanyFirst Department of Internal Medicine, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany; Internal Medicine IV, Jena University Hospital, Jena, GermanyFirst Department of Internal Medicine, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany; Internal Medicine IV, Jena University Hospital, Jena, GermanyFirst Department of Internal Medicine, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, GermanyDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, GermanyBackground & Aims: QuickStroop, a shortened version of the Stroop EncephalApp, has recently been proposed for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with cirrhosis in the USA. At present, there are no data on its clinical utility for MHE screening in patients in Europe, and only limited data are available regarding its comparison to the Animal Naming Test (ANT). Methods: In total, 242 patients with cirrhosis without signs of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) ≥ grade 1 and no history of overt HE were included as the development cohort. Another independent cohort comprising 104 patients with cirrhosis from a different center served as a validation set. MHE was defined using the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) (PHES-MHE). All patients were tested with the complete EncephalApp Stroop. A subset was also tested with the ANT. Regression formulas were fitted for patients above and below the age of 60 years, including the first two off-state runs, age, and school education (QuickStroop). Results: PHES-MHE was detected in 76 (31%) patients. The first two off-state runs of the EncephalApp demonstrated a comparable discriminative ability to the complete Stroop test in distinguishing between patients with and without PHES-MHE. QuickStroop had a better discriminative ability in patients below than above the age of 60 years. The discriminative ability of QuickStroop (total cohort: AUC 0.88) was superior to ANT (AUC 0.70). QuickStroop predicted PHES-MHE with a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 89%, and took a median of only 34.5 s to complete. The acceptable discriminative ability of QuickStroop was confirmed in the validation cohort (AUC 0.81). Conclusion: QuickStroop is a rapid screening tool to identify patients at risk for PHES-MHE, especially in patients below 60 years of age. Impact and implications:: QuickStroop, a shortened version of the Stroop EncephalApp, has recently been proposed for screening for MHE in patients with cirrhosis in the USA. In this study, we validated QuickStroop for patients in Germany with cirrhosis and demonstrate a good diagnostic accuracy for detecting MHE, especially in patients below 60 years of age. Additionally, QuickStroop might be superior to the ANT in patients below 60 years of age. The use of QuickStroop in clinical practice could facilitate screening for MHE.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589555924003021Hepatic encephalopathyStroop EncephalAppPsychometric hepatic encephalopathy scoreCognitive dysfunction
spellingShingle Christian Labenz
Simon J. Gairing
Leonard Kaps
Alena F. Ehrenbauer
Eva M. Schleicher
Sophie Mengel
Julius F.M. Egge
Maria M. Gabriel
Peter R. Galle
Heiner Wedemeyer
Alexander Zipprich
Cristina Ripoll
Robin Greinert
Benjamin Maasoumy
QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis
JHEP Reports
Hepatic encephalopathy
Stroop EncephalApp
Psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score
Cognitive dysfunction
title QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis
title_full QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis
title_fullStr QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis
title_full_unstemmed QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis
title_short QuickStroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis
title_sort quickstroop for screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis
topic Hepatic encephalopathy
Stroop EncephalApp
Psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score
Cognitive dysfunction
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589555924003021
work_keys_str_mv AT christianlabenz quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT simonjgairing quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT leonardkaps quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT alenafehrenbauer quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT evamschleicher quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT sophiemengel quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT juliusfmegge quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT mariamgabriel quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT peterrgalle quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT heinerwedemeyer quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT alexanderzipprich quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT cristinaripoll quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT robingreinert quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis
AT benjaminmaasoumy quickstroopforscreeningforminimalhepaticencephalopathyinpatientswithcirrhosis