UNCOMPLICATED CAROTID ENDARTERECTOMY IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL IMPAIRMENT

Whether neuropsychological changes follow carotid artery surgery is un clear, in part because of complications by multiple perioperative vari ables. Therefore, we carried out a detailed analysis of patients who u nderwent carotid artery surgery in which we attempted to control for t he most important variables by excluding patients with a preoperative stroke and by adopting a standard operative technique without use of i ntraoperative carotid shunts. Thirty inpatients with symptomatic carot id artery disease admitted for carotid endarterectomy were assessed wi th a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests administered im mediately before and after (48-72 h) surgery. No carotid bypass shunt was inserted during the operation. The battery included dementia and d epression screening tests, standardised neuropsychological measures in cluding Verbal Fluency and the National Adult Reading Test, and a batt ery of contemporary computerised tasks designed to measure different a spects of memory and attention from the Cambridge Neuropsychological T est Automated Battery (CANTAB). No significant difference was found in the cognitive scores postoperatively as compared with the patients' p reoperative scores or compared with scores of a control group matched by age and intelligence. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.