Authors : S Kant, Kara Poddar, M Kamle, C Patil
DOI : 10.18231/2455-8451.2018.0045
Volume : 4
Issue : 4
Year : 0
Page No : 191-196
Introduction: Dementia is a major public health challenge that is becoming more common with growing age. It involves progressive and often remorseless decline in cognition, functions, behavior and care needs. The Assessment of dementia greatly relies on collateral as well as patient-derived information. The use of various cognitive tests assumes great importance during the process of diagnostic investigation. In this research we attempt to assess the practical usage of various cognitive scales.
Materials and Methods: In this study, we studied the data of 233 patients in the neurology OPD. The following cognitive scales like Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE), Hachinski Ischemic Score (HIS), and Everyday Abilities Scale for India (EASI) were performed on the above selected data of patient.
Results: 228 (97.85) % of patients were found to have cognitive impairment when screened with MoCA. However, 230 (98.7%) of patients screened with EASI had a disability score. The patients with a HIS score of more than 7 was (64) 27.9%. Whereas, ACE indicated all patients had score below 83 (100%). The sensitivity of MoCA, ACE, and EASI score was 72.69% and 72.29%, 71.74% respectively with a specificity of 50 and 100, 0.0% respectively for the above scores, whereas the sensitivity and specificity of HIS was 49.50% and 10.61.
Conclusion: MoCA, ACE, and EASI tools have good capability to detect most patients with cognitive impairments. They are sensitive to predict probable cases of dementia, therefore can be used as an efficient diagnostic tool in quick screening of cognitive impairment.
Keywords: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE), Hachinski Ischemic Score (HIS), Everyday Abilities Scale for India (EASI), and dementia.