Diagnostic accuracy of consensus diagnostic criteria for frontotemporal dementia in a memory clinic population.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the core diagnostic criteria for frontotemporal dementia (FTD) [Neary D, et al: Neurology 1998;51:1546-1554] within a memory clinic population.


METHODS
The 5 core diagnostic criteria for FTD were operationalised in an informant-based written questionnaire. For a diagnosis of FTD the total clinical picture was weighted with findings on additional investigations and possible exclusion criteria, with follow-up of at least 1 year.


RESULTS
The operationalised core criteria for FTD had a sensitivity of 79% (95% CI = 57-92) and a specificity of 90% (95% CI = 85-94).


CONCLUSIONS
The core diagnostic criteria for FTD applied in a caregiver questionnaire have good diagnostic accuracy among subjects without advanced dementia attending a memory clinic. This stresses the importance of the informant-based history in the differential diagnosis of dementia.
Pijnenburg
Yolande A L
YA
Alzheimer Centre, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mulder
Jacqueline L
JL
van Swieten
John C
JC
Uitdehaag
Bernard M J
BM
Stevens
Martijn
M
Scheltens
Philip
P
Jonker
Cees
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D032921:Consensus; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010348:Patient Care Team; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18