Lisa Hahn1, Josef Kessler2. 1. Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany. l.hahn53@gmail.com. 2. Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The mini mental state examination (MMSE) has been criticized for its lack of sensitivity, especially in mild cases of dementia. There have been several attempts to increase the sensitivity by adding or deleting items, which never became accepted in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: In the current study a new scoring system for improving the sensitivity of the MMSE is proposed, which preserves the original items and the total score of 30 points. Instead of changing the number of items or the total score of 30 points, the weighting of the different items in the total score of 30 points was changed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Neuropsychological test data of 765 patients were retrospectively included in the study to determine the difficulty of each MMSE item. Multiple scoring systems for the MMSE were developed by inclusion of the item difficulty and clinical relevance. The sensitivity of the new scoring system was compared to the original scoring system by using the DemTect as an established measure. RESULTS: The results showed that an increase of 24.3% in sensitivity was statistically significant. Within the mild cognitive impairment subgroup, the sensitivity of the new scoring system was twice as high in comparison to the original MMSE and within the dementia group the sensitivity was increased by 8.2%. CONCLUSION: A new scoring system with a higher sensitivity than the original MMSE was developed, which can easily be administered in clinical practice because it preserves all items and the total score of 30 points.
BACKGROUND: The mini mental state examination (MMSE) has been criticized for its lack of sensitivity, especially in mild cases of dementia. There have been several attempts to increase the sensitivity by adding or deleting items, which never became accepted in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: In the current study a new scoring system for improving the sensitivity of the MMSE is proposed, which preserves the original items and the total score of 30 points. Instead of changing the number of items or the total score of 30 points, the weighting of the different items in the total score of 30 points was changed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Neuropsychological test data of 765 patients were retrospectively included in the study to determine the difficulty of each MMSE item. Multiple scoring systems for the MMSE were developed by inclusion of the item difficulty and clinical relevance. The sensitivity of the new scoring system was compared to the original scoring system by using the DemTect as an established measure. RESULTS: The results showed that an increase of 24.3% in sensitivity was statistically significant. Within the mild cognitive impairment subgroup, the sensitivity of the new scoring system was twice as high in comparison to the original MMSE and within the dementia group the sensitivity was increased by 8.2%. CONCLUSION: A new scoring system with a higher sensitivity than the original MMSE was developed, which can easily be administered in clinical practice because it preserves all items and the total score of 30 points.
Entities:
Keywords:
Clinical practice; Mental status and dementia tests; Scoring system; Sensitivity and specificity
Authors: E Kalbe; J Kessler; P Calabrese; R Smith; A P Passmore; M Brand; R Bullock Journal: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2004-02 Impact factor: 3.485
Authors: Mariel Nöhre; Maximilian Bauer-Hohmann; Felix Klewitz; Eva-Marie Kyaw Tha Tun; Uwe Tegtbur; Lars Pape; Lena Schiffer; Martina de Zwaan; Mario Schiffer Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2019-10-31 Impact factor: 4.157