A new diagnostic method for cognitive impairment in hypertensive patients with long COVID

Objective — to determine the effectiveness of a new method for diagnosing cognitive impairment in patients with hypertension with long COVID.
Material and methods. In a single-stage screening clinical study, over the course of 3 years, 205 patients (23,4 %) with long COVID were selected out of 878 hypertensive patients. Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on the presence or absence of cognitive impairment based on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). To assess the effectiveness of a new method for detecting cognitive impairments, the “SEMOGRAPH” multi-user information system was used as a tool for processing and analyzing patients’ oral answers in the form of “free speech” to the questions of a specially developed questionnaire, taking into account the relationship with COVID‑19 infection.
Results. The mean age of patients included in the study was 57,2 ± 12,4 years, the mean duration of long COVID was 7,3 [3,2; 12,8] months. Among hypertensive patients with long COVID syndrome, 74 (36,1 %) subjects were diagnosed with cognitive impairment using the MMSE, while cognitive decline was found in 80 (39,0 %) subjects with the help of the “SEMOGRAPH” information system. Based on the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, the new method for diagnosing cognitive impairment using the “SEMOGRAPH” information system was comparable to the “gold standard” — the MMSE scale: the area under the ROC curve was 0,855, p < 0,001; sensitivity 85,6 %, specificity 90,1 %.
Conclusion. A new method using the “SEMOGRAPH” information system, which eliminates the doctor’s subjectivity and the need to process questionnaires manually, in comparison with the “gold standard” — the MMSE scale, allowed for an accurate verification of cognitive impairment in hypertensive patients with long COVID.

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