Visual analog scale for autoevaluation in elderly patients presenting either pain or early dementia.

Purpose and Methods. - Sixteen elderly patients with early dementia and 20 elderly patients with pain, all hospitalized in a geriatric hospital, evalu ated their memory health and mood, using a visual analog scale. Observation s of their families and of the medical staff were also recorded for subsequ ent comparison. The patients' complaints were also compared to those of a c ontrol group including 16 healthy elderly subjects. Results. - Patients with early dementia complained more often than control subjects of memory loss and health and mood disorders, while patients with pain complained more often of only health and mood disorders. However, only patients with dementia complained of memory loss. Complaints noticed by th eir families and medical staff were in good agreement with theirs. Regardin g patients with early dementia, the medical staff underestimated their comp laint of memory loss. Conclusion. - Visual analog scales appear to be valuable tools regarding no t only evaluation of pain but also the patients' general condition. complai nts of memory loss could be of value as they would suggest the existence of early dementia in elderly patients. However, our study emphasizes the need for training medical staff to listen to such a complaint. (C) 2000 Edition s scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.