A STUDY OF BEDSIDE SCREENING PROCEDURES FOR COGNITIVE DEFICITS IN CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC-INPATIENTS

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Trail Making Test, pa rt B (TMT-B) were compared for screening cognitive deficits in a sampl e of 104 psychiatric inpatients at a long-term hospital. The TMT-B cla ssified 84% of the patients as impaired. The classic MMSE cutoff score (less than or equal to 23) using serial sevens and spelling classifie d 42% and 24% of the patients respectively, as impaired. The new MMSE cutoff classified 71% as impaired. Education, gender, and medication m ay influence impairment when using the MMSE classic cutoff scores. In TMT-B only, impairment was influenced by chronicity. The TMT-B was abl e to distinguish patients impaired in the MMSE. The TMT-B, therefore, may be more useful than the MMSE to screen for cognitive deficits in c hronic psychiatric inpatients. Copyright (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Com pany.