Background In clinical practice it is imperative that patients with HIV, especially those with a concomitant mental illness, be screened for cognitive deficits. Not only is this important to document baseline levels of cognitive function, monitor for onset or progression of HIV-dementia, but to provide tools to improve treatment compliance for patients who demonstrate cognitive deficits. This study endeavored to determine what cognitive screening tools were most practical and effective to assess this population.

Methods HIV-positive participants were recruited from a psychiatric inpatient facility. Participants were administered five cognitive screening tools: Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Trail Making Test- Parts A and B (TMT), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The sample consisted of 21 participants with diagnoses including bipolar disorder (42%), schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (25%), depressive and anxiety disorder (17%), psychotic disorder not otherwise specified (8%), delusional disorder (4%), and adjustment disorder (4%). (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- Fourth Edition was utilized.) Fifty-eight percent of the sample had co-occurring substance use disorders.

Results The mean age of participants was 42.08 years with 13.25 years of education. Ninety six percent of the sample were male. Fifty eight percent of the participants were Caucasian and 21% were Hispanic and 21% African American. Fifteen percent of the sample were newly diagnosed HIV-positive. Cognitive deficits were found on most of tools utilized. The RBANS demonstrated the most cognitive deficits consistent with the known literature in this population. The RBANS specifically revealed impairments in domains of delayed memory and attention. This, in turn, translates into problems retaining verbal and visual information.

Conclusion Development of cognitive assessment tools that can be utilized by non-psychologists to target this high-risk population is necessary as an important prognostic and treatment guide.

Disclosure No significant relationships.