Solomon Gurmu Beka

and 3 more

Objective: This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Trail Making Test (TMT) and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) among individuals with post-COVID-19 conditions compared to healthy controls. Background: Objectively identifying neurocognitive impairments post-COVID-19 in pilots is crucial for ensuring flight safety. TMT parts A and B and SDMT are potential screening tools; however, their sensitivity and specificity in detecting neurocognitive impairment in individuals with post-COVID-19 conditions require further evaluation. Methods: This study included volunteers aged 18-65 with post-COVID-19 symptoms and a healthy control group. Quantitative data were collected via a survey, and qualitative data through interviews. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 29.0. Results: Forty-eight post-COVID-19 patients participated. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.85 for TMT Part B (p<0.001), 0.81 for SDMT (p<0.001), and 0.76 for TMT Part A (p=0.01). TMT Part B showed a sensitivity of 71.9%, specificity of 91.3%, and accuracy of 80%. The SDMT had a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 53.1 %, 95.6%, and 70.9 %, respectively. TMT Part A had a sensitivity of 71.9%, specificity of 78.3%, and accuracy of 74.5%. Conclusion: TMT Part B had the highest area under the curve, demonstrating excellent discriminative power. It is also a sensitive and specific tool for identifying pilots that require comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. A large-scale study is warranted to establish an aircrew-specific normative dataset.