J. Deleon et al., A STUDY OF BEDSIDE SCREENING PROCEDURES FOR COGNITIVE DEFICITS IN CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC-INPATIENTS, Comprehensive psychiatry, 37(5), 1996, pp. 328-335
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.