title: Application of cognitive scales to medical records of schizophrenia inpatients.
abstract: The Scales of Cognitive Impairment Rated From Institutional Records (SCIRFIR), a battery based on commonly used dementia rating instruments, was tested on the records of 26 chronically institutionalized, elderly schizophrenia patients, for the purpose of retrospectively evaluating the long-term course of cognitive change in schizophrenia and relating it to available autopsy materials. The inter-rater reliability of the component scales was high (Intraclass Correlations = 0.78-0.96), the final item scores were comparable to ratings on living subjects, and Alzheimer-type neuropathological changes were associated with a markedly deteriorating course. The substantial potential of this method is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY 10032, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ortakov
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mancevski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keilp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oppenheim
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Dwork
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D015588:Observer Variation; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology