Use of Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination-revised to evaluate the patients’ state in general medical practice

Abstract

The differential diagnosis of cognitive impairments is of great importance in mental disorders detectable in general medical practice. Objective: to study whether Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination — Revised (ACE-R) may be used in these patients. Patients and methods. The study was conducted in two steps at somatic hospitals and city polyclinics. It enrolled 130patients (36 men and 94 women) with anxiety-depression spectrum disorders (ADSD), mild cognitive disorders (MCD) and a concurrence of these conditions. The authors used the following psychometric scales: the hospital anxiety and depression scale; the mini-mental state examination; the frontal assessment battery; ACE-R; ten words learning test. The psychometric characteristics of ACE-R and the possibilities of its use were estimated to detect MCD. The differences in the spectrum of cognitive impairments were analyzed in patients with different types of ADSD. Results. ACE-R is shown to be an effective neuropsychological tool for the primary diagnosis, detection, and evaluation of MCD in the general medical network. The results of ACE-R use indicate that the spectrum of cognitive impairments has substantial differences in patients with different types of non-psychotic disorders.