Discussion
infection
INFECTION
In this study, we detected significant concordance for all tests, except for the tapping span. Some tests, such as the RCPM, PASAT, and TMT-B, showed good or excellent agreement. The results on the RCPM showed that it is possible to remotely assess intellectual functions for which there is little evidence. Additionally, our results showed that the PASAT, which is a synchronisation task, and the TMT, which is a synchronous and motor-dependent task, can be evaluated remotely, even with common equipment and software. On the other hand, previous studies have indicated that remote assessment may have a negative effect on synchronous tasks, and that movement-dependent tasks are heterogeneous [Next, we considered factors that did not show agreement in the tapping span. Since no significant differences were found in the scores, it is unlikely that there was a difference in difficulty between the VTC and FTF conditions. One possibility is the instability of the test itself. Among the 16 items of the Japanese standard attention test in the CAT, the test–retest reliability of the tapping span (forward) was the lowest (ICC = 0.69) [This study has important implications. The most clinically feasible application is the use of the neurocognitive assessment for patients hospitalised during pandemics or other situations that require infection prevention measures. This is because the present study demonstrated reliability under the condition of ‘different rooms within the same building’. Additionally, it can be implemented in hospitals using inexpensive devices. However, remote assessments connecting medical facilities to participants’ homes are impractical because of extensive device setup requirements. When targeting older people, it is advisable to avoid procedures that require them to operate devices. Nevertheless, an application similar to this study, in which examination booths are established with pre-installed equipment that is remotely operated by examiners, could potentially enable cognitive function monitoring by connecting specialised hospitals with facilities accommodating older adults or community centres in the region.Finally, we acknowledge the limitations of this study and suggest avenues for future research. As pointed out in previous reports of similar designs [