title: [Dementia assessment in the Memory Clinic St. Gallen: do further diagnostic work up or therapy lead to a change of diagnosis?].
abstract: We evaluated 143 patients referred to the Memory Clinic St. Gallen for ambulatory dementia assessment between 1995 and 1999. We assessed demographic data, medical results and follow-up data over a mean period of 16 months. 63% of the patients suffered from dementia, 14% had a mild cognitive impairment, 1% had a preexisting debility and 22% had no cognitive deficit. The cause of dementia was Alzheimer's disease in 40% of the patients. Vascular dementia (2.8%) and reversible forms of dementia (2.1%) were underrepresented. In 63 out of 143 patients we examined, if further diagnostic work up (CT or MRI, laboratory testing etc.) or empirical medication by the family physicians led to a change of the initial diagnosis. Follow-up findings confirmed the initial diagnosis in 87.3% of cases. Based on these results we conclude that expensive diagnostic procedures are not necessary in most patients referred for the ambulatory assessment of dementia.
authors.affiliation: Zentrum für Geriatrie und Rehabilitation am Bürgerspital St. Gallen.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwenk
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Inglin
authors.forename: Ch
authors.initials: Ch
authors.lastname: Hürny
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed