title: The utility of the ten-point clock test as a screen for cognitive impairment in general hospital patients.
abstract: The object of this work was to illustrate the utility of the ten-point clock test as a screen for cognitive impairment in the general hospital by examining a range of diagnoses and estimating sensitivity for each. A total of 195 consecutive medical and surgical inpatients were examined who were referred for psychiatric consultation and histories from patient, family, nurses, physicians, and hospital records were obtained. Seventy-six percent of these patients were administered the ten-point clock test at the initial evaluation. The percentages of patients scoring less than 8 points on the ten-point clock test for the following primary diagnoses were delirium (92%), dementia (90%), and adjustment disorder (5%). Thirty-nine to seventy percent of patients with a delirium, dementia, opioid intoxication, or a cognitive disorder n. o. s. scored lower than 5 points but none of the patients with a major depressive disorder, alcohol dependence, or adjustment disorder did so. The sensitivities of the ten-point clock test and minimental state examinations appeared similar in a subset of patients. The ten-point clock test is a useful screen for cognitive impairment in general hospital patients.
authors.affiliation: Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington 98111, USA.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Manos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014861:Washington