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Cognitive Function After Lung Transplantation

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Medical Research and Innovation

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((CLEXBI,volume 1324))

Abstract

Cognitive functioning after transplantation, which could influence medication compliance and independence, has not been well studied. This study investigated cognitive impairment after lung transplantation. Patients undergoing bilateral transplant between March 2013 and October 2015 underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment at 60.1 ± 44.1 months post-transplantation: verbal memory (Auditory-Verbal Learning Test, digit span forward), visual memory (Corsi Block-Tapping Test forward, Benton Visual Retention Test), concentration/speed of processing/attention (D2 Test of Attention, Trail Making Test (TMT) A, Grooved Pegboard), and executive functioning (TMT B, Stroop Color-Word Test, semantic and phonematic verbal fluency, digit span backward, Corsi Block-Tapping Test backward). Mean scores were compared with a normative dataset using a one-sample t-test. A cognitive domain was judged impaired if the score on two or more domain-specific tests was greater than one standard deviation below the normative dataset age range mean. Of 124 lung transplant recipients (51% male, 54.3 ± 9.0 years), 70% showed cognitive impairment in one or more domains. Executive function was most often impaired (78% of recipients not within the age range) followed by verbal memory impairment (72% not within the age range). Cognitive function reductions were largely independent of age, gender, education, immunosuppressive medications, and time since transplantation. The findings show that cognitive impairment is common after lung transplantation and should be subject to rehabilitation and psychological resilience strategies.

Urte Sommerwerck and Daniel Jokisch contributed equally to this work.

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Acknowledgments

Urte Sommerwerck and Daniel Jokisch contributed equally to this work. English language editing assistance was kindly provided by Nicola Ryan, an independent medical writer. This study did not receive any funding from external sources.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors of this manuscript have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants complied with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the institutional review board of the University Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

Informed Consent

All patients gave written informed consent to participate in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pneumology, Krankenhaus der Augustinerinnen Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Urte Sommerwerck

  2. Department of Pneumology, Bergisches Lungenzentrum Wuppertal, Helios University Hospital of Wuppertal, University of Witten-Herdecke, Wuppertal, Germany

    Urte Sommerwerck & Kurt Rasche

  3. Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Daniel Jokisch & Martha Jokisch

  4. Ruhrlandklinik, West German Lung Transplantation Centre, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Gerhard Weinreich, Michael Neurath, Celina Heinze, Vasiliki Bessa & Christian Taube

  5. Department of Thoracic Surgery, West German Lung Transplantation Center, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Clemens Aigner

  6. Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, West German Heart Center, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Markus Kamler

  7. Department of Pneumology, Cologne Merheim Hospital, Kliniken der Stadt Köln g GmbH, University of Witten-Herdecke, Witten, Germany

    Wolfram Windisch

Authors
  1. Urte Sommerwerck
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  2. Daniel Jokisch
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  3. Gerhard Weinreich
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  4. Michael Neurath
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  5. Celina Heinze
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  6. Vasiliki Bessa
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  7. Clemens Aigner
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  8. Markus Kamler
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  9. Christian Taube
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  10. Kurt Rasche
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  11. Wolfram Windisch
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  12. Martha Jokisch
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Urte Sommerwerck or Daniel Jokisch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Opole Medical School, Opole, Poland

    Mieczyslaw Pokorski

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Sommerwerck, U. et al. (2020). Cognitive Function After Lung Transplantation. In: Pokorski, M. (eds) Medical Research and Innovation. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1324. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2020_590

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