ARDS Cognitive Questionnaire

     On Tuesday, May 4, 1999, Sue Peterson spoke with Dr. William H. 
Shull, Jr., who is an Assistant Professor of Rehabilitative Medicine and 
Director of Trauma Rehabilitation specializing in brain injury. Dr. 
Shull is with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The 
ARDS Support Advisory Council has heard from many ARDS survivors and 
their families about some of the cognitive changes noted after surviving 
ARDS, such as short term memory loss, difficulty in concentration, 
depression, anxiety and trouble with executive functions. We have 
received many questions from you regarding this. We have learned that 
many of your doctors do not address these issues and do not offer a 
great deal of assistance in this area. This is probably because no 
research has been done, to our knowledge, in the area of pulmonary 
injury causing chemical changes/injury to the brain. This is your 
opportunity as ARDS survivors and as families of loved ones who have 
survived ARDS to start the ball rolling in getting more attention and 
research into this very important area. We have written an informal 
survey and would greatly appreciate your responses. They are important 
as we move forward and attempt to understand more about ARDS. We ask you 
to answer these questions as fully as you can and also at the bottom of 
the survey to write about any other problems/questions that you have 
experienced in your recovery process. Your responses will be forwarded 
to Dr. Shull. Dr. Shull believes "this will definitely lead to research 
and more importantly, to improved awareness of the importance of rehab 
doctors in helping the pulmonary physician treat the ARDS survivor, and 
most importantly, to improved quality of life for patients and 
families".

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ANSWERING AND SENDING RESPONSES:

     If this text file has opened in your browser window instead of
the download window opening up, then click File in your Menu bar
and click "Save" or "Save As". Then save it to a directory or
place on your hard drive (or on your desktop) where you may
easily retrieve it using your word processor and then answer
each question below the question where the A: appears.
     When done, re-save the file with the answers. Then open your
e-mail program, prepare an e-mail addressed to ards@iname.com
and type in the subject line: Attention council member Donna Hild
then attach the saved file to the e-mail and it.

THANK YOU.  You will be helping many others.


1. Do you have problems with loss of memory? If so, please describe the
problems.

A: 

2. Do you have trouble concentrating?
 
A:

3. Do you have trouble organizing your day?

A:
 
4. Is it difficult to pay close attention to TV?

A:

5. Are you able to comprehend what you read?

A:
 
6. Do you find yourself having to go back and re-read paragraphs that
you just read?

A:
 
7. Do you lose your place while reading?

A:
 
8. Do you have problems with basic self-care?

A:
 
9. Do you have trouble driving?

A:

10. Do you have problems with community based mobility skills, i.e. 
walking, attending meetings and understanding what was said, etc.?

A:

11. Do you have difficulty with fine motor skills?

A:
 
12. Do you feel that your judgment is impaired?

A:
 
13. Do you feel that you have poor safety awareness?

A:
 
14. Do you find your self suddenly being impulsive?

A:
 
15. Are you having problems with sleep/wake cycles? If so, please 
describe.

A:
 
16. Have you noticed any changes in your personality?

A:
 
17. Please tell us about any other areas in your mental  
thinking/anxiety/emotions
that you are having problems with.

A: