[Standardization of the Children's Orientation and Amnesia Test, French version, to evaluate post-traumatic amnesia in children].

INTRODUCTION

The duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), the period of altered memory that often follows traumatic brain injury (TBI), is a useful index of severity of TBI and a predictor of outcome after TBI. Yet, evaluating PTA in French-speaking brain-injured children is not standardized.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to translate into the French language and standardize the Children's Orientation and Amnesia Test (COAT), inspired by the Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test (GOAT), which estimates PTA duration in adults.

METHOD

Development of a French version of the COAT (COAT-VF) with 16 items: 7 of general orientation, 5 temporal orientation and 4 memory. Normative data were collected for 137 children aged 4, 6, 8 and 10 years who were attending school.

RESULTS

Performance on the COAT-VF was influenced by age and sociocultural factors but not sex.

CONCLUSION

The COAT-VF, short and simple to administer, allows for an accurate evaluation of PTA duration in French children.