title: Validation of the route map recall test for getting lost behavior in Alzheimer's disease patients.
abstract: Getting lost (GL) behavior is among the early symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Only a few tests, however, have been developed to screen for this symptom. The aim of this study was to develop an instrument, the Route Map Recall Test (RMRT), for the screening of the GL problem in AD patients. We examined the psychometric properties of the RMRT and its clinical utility to predict the GL risk in 23 AD patients and 43 cognitively healthy older adults. The results showed that the RMRT has a sound reliability (test-retest, r = .752, p < .001; Cronbach's α = 0.887, p < .001). The convergent validity was supported by the high correlations with Trail Making Test A and B. With the optimal criteria (93.5/104), the discriminative validity for the diagnosis of AD showed good sensitivity (86%) and specificity (70%), and sensitivity (100%) and specificity (67%) for GL in AD patients. The findings support the RMRT to be a useful tool for clinical screening of AD patients and their GL risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy,  College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan,  Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsui-Ying
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yen-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Hui-Ing
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Chih-Chien
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ming-Chyi
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013028:Space Perception; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014706:Verbal Learning