Patient‐Reported Communication Decline Following Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease

BACKGROUND: Objective decline in communication abilities following Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in People with Parkinson's disease (PwP) is common; however, patient perspectives remain under-investigated. OBJECTIVES: This study examined subjective change in communicative efficacy using the Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB) in PwP following DBS. METHODS: This study examined change in CPIB in 30 PwP following subthalamic DBS using t-tests and examined correlates with cognition. RESULTS: Statistically significant declines in subjective communication efficacy were reported following DBS, t(29) = -3.19, P = 0.003. CPIB decline was not associated with baseline or change in objective language performance after DBS. CPIB decline was not related to laterality of DBS target or pre-DBS cognitive status. CONCLUSIONS: Subjective communication decline is common in PwP who undergo STN-DBS, but was not associated with objective measures of language and cognition. Findings support incorporating patient-reported outcomes (eg, CPIB) into DBS evaluations to inform intervention and clarify risk factors for communication decline.