Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Anna Luce, Professor Ian McKeith, Dr Alan Swann, Sarah Daniel, Professor John O'Brien
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
METHODS: 100 consecutive referrals to the Northern Memory Clinic (NMC) were compared with 100 referrals to a traditional Old Age Psychiatry (OAPsych) service in the same city in terms of demographic variables, cognitive function (assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination), and diagnosis. The study also examined the ability of psychometric assessments (CAMCOG, MMSE, Trail-Making Tests A & B, Word Fluency) and CT scans included in the NMC assessment to differentiate between those with and without DSM-IV dementia. RESULTS: NMC patients were significantly younger than OAPsych patients, had lower levels of cognitive impairment, and had a wider range of diagnoses. The NMC patients who were diagnosed as having dementia were found to be at least 2 years earlier in the course of the disease than those seen by the OAPsych team. The CAMCOG and MMSE were proved to be effective at distinguishing between patients diagnosed as dementing versus non-dementing with cut-offs of 82/83 and 23/24 respectively, confirming previous findings. The Memory subscale of the CAMCOG, though much shorter, was equally as effective using a cut-off of 20/21. Trail-Making Tests, Word Fluency (FAS), and measurement of the minimum width of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) on angled CT scans were poor indicators of dementia in this sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that the memory clinic is targeting a distinct patient group compared to traditional old age psychiatry services, is identifying cases of dementia much earlier, and as such has potential to make valuable contributions to patient care. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Author(s): Luce A, McKeith I, Swann A, Daniel S, OBrien J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Year: 2001
Volume: 16
Issue: 9
Pages: 837-845
ISSN (print): 0885-6230
ISSN (electronic): 1099-1166
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gps.402
DOI: 10.1002/gps.402
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
