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Which cognitive screening tools do you use when evaluating older adults with suspected dementia?

Which tools do you routinely use (e.g., MMSE, MoCA, SLUMS, FAB), and why? How many screening measures do you typically complete before diagnosing major neurocognitive disorder? When do you refer for formal neuropsychological testing?
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Which cognitive screening tools do you use for older adults with suspected dementia?

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4 Answers
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Psychiatry · Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospitals
Answered on

In keeping with Alexander Luria's (paraphrased) maxim that knowing what a patient gets wrong on cognitive screening is incomplete until you know why/how they erred, I'd say the tool used is less important than interpreting it. So, I don't worry too much about MMSE vs MoCA vs SLUMS (as long as the MM...

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Psychiatry · Seattle Neuropsychiatric Treatment Center
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Cognitive screening is somewhat less of a focus for me these days, so I have to put a plug in for things that don't take long. Mini-Cog, just a 2-item test (recall of 3 words followed by drawing a clock, and altogether judged normal or abnormal), is brilliant and takes very little time. It will tell...

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Psychiatry · UCLA
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In our Memory/Neurobehavior and other Geriatric clinics, we use alternating versions of the MoCA and switch to the MMSE when cognition drops consistently below 13+/-.

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Psychiatry · Thapar Renu K Office
Answered on

If, during a psychiatric evaluation, you sense issues with cognition, or a patient is specifically referred for cognitive issues. Complete an MMSE in a low-functioning patient.

If the patient clears that, then proceed to MoCA or SLUMS.

If the score is questionable, then refer for a formal neuropsych...

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