Simple tools for complex syndromes: a three-level difficulty test for hepatic encephalopathy.

Background: Despite the impact of hepatic encephalopathy on quality of life and prognosis, easily administered tests for its diagnosis are still lacking.

Aim: To assess the usefulness of the Scan package, a three-level-difficulty computerised reaction time test, to diagnose varying degrees of hepatic encephalopathy.

Methods: Sixty-one cirrhotic patients underwent clinical evaluation, paper-and-pencil psychometry and the Scan package; 32 healthy controls served as reference.