Work

The Hungarian version of the oxford cognitive screen (OCS-HU): Normative data and comparison of mild stroke to neurologically healthy adults

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Post-stroke cognitive impairment drives long-term disability, yet cognitive deficits are rarely systematically screened in clinical practice or trials. The Oxford Cognitive Screen (OCS) is an established, brief, stroke-specific bedside tool. We present the Hungarian version (OCS-HU) to establish normative data and characterise performance in acute stroke survivors, to enable routine screening. Methods: In a prospective, multicenter cross-sectional study, 106 healthy controls and 124 acute stroke survivors completed the OCS-HU within three weeks post-stroke. Normative 5th/95th percentile cut-offs derived from controls were compared with UK normative data. OCS-HU performance was subsequently compared between Hungarian controls and acute stroke survivors. Results: The stroke cohort (68.21 ± 12.41 years) presented with a predominantly mild clinical profile (mean NIHSS: 5.15 ± 3.96; mRS: 2.47 ± 1.49). Hungarian controls (59.61 ± 12.30 years) were younger (p = 0.013) and had lower educational attainment (p < 0.001). Controlling for demographic differences, subtests demonstrated comparable normative performance, allowing retention of original UK cut-offs across most domains with minor linguistic adaptations. Minor control performance differences reflected demographic variations in age and education rather than recruitment bias. Stroke patients performed significantly worse than controls on 10 of 14 assessed measures (p < 0.001). Nonsignificant differences in the broken hearts test, semantics, and praxis reflect the mild cohortseverity and control error variance. Conclusions: We establishes local normative reference data and characterised OCS-HU performance in acute stroke survivors, providing a foundation for its clinical and research application to improve deficit recognition, highlight unmet rehabilitation needs, and complement standard functional outcome measures.

Source: Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior

DOI: 10.1016/j.cccb.2026.100567