Reliability and validity of the telephone version of the Cantonese Mini-mental State Examination (T-CMMSE) when used with elderly patients with and without dementia in Hong Kong.
BACKGROUND
The objectives of this study were to examine the reliability and validity of a 26-point telephone version of the Cantonese Mini-mental State Examination (T-CMMSE) for a sample of 65 elderly patients, comprising 31 patients without dementia and 34 patients with dementia, in an acute regional hospital in Hong Kong, and to identify an optimal cut-off score to discriminate between those patients with dementia and those without.


METHODS
Participants were rated by using the face-to-face Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) before inpatient discharge and the T-CMMSE after inpatient discharge, and were rated separately by two raters in two telephone follow-up sessions using the T-CMMSE.


RESULTS
The results of the study indicated that the scale had excellent inter-and intra-rater reliabilities. There was substantial agreement between the two versions of the examination (kappa > 0.6-0.8 < or =) for orientation, registration, and recall items. An optimal cut-off score of < or = 16 was suggested for the T-CMMSE to discriminate between those with and without dementia.


CONCLUSIONS
The T-CMMSE can be used in telephone follow-ups as an alternative to the conventional face-to-face version.
Wong
Shui Sang
SS
Occupational Therapy Department, United Christian Hospital, 130 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. polyustudentsang@yahoo.com.hk
Fong
Kenneth Nai Kuen
KN
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015588:Observer Variation; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results