TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment and diagnosis of dementia
T2 - A review for primary healthcare professionals
AU - Lam, Kuen
AU - Chan, Windy S. Y.
AU - Luk, James K.H.
AU - Leung, Angela Yee Man
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - Dementia is one of the most costly, disabling diseases associated with ageing, yet it remains underdiagnosed in primary care. In this article, we present the comprehensive approach illustrated with a classical case for diagnosing dementia which can be applied by healthcare professionals in primary care. This diagnostic approach includes history taking and physical examination, cognitive testing, informant interviews, neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, and the utility of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. For the differential diagnosis of cognitive impairment, the differences and similarities among normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment, depression, and delirium are highlighted. As primary care physicians are playing an increasingly prominent role in the caring of elderly patients in an ageing population, their role in the diagnosis of dementia should be strengthened in order to provide a quality care for patients with dementia.
AB - Dementia is one of the most costly, disabling diseases associated with ageing, yet it remains underdiagnosed in primary care. In this article, we present the comprehensive approach illustrated with a classical case for diagnosing dementia which can be applied by healthcare professionals in primary care. This diagnostic approach includes history taking and physical examination, cognitive testing, informant interviews, neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, and the utility of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. For the differential diagnosis of cognitive impairment, the differences and similarities among normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment, depression, and delirium are highlighted. As primary care physicians are playing an increasingly prominent role in the caring of elderly patients in an ageing population, their role in the diagnosis of dementia should be strengthened in order to provide a quality care for patients with dementia.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076613497&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.12809/hkmj198073
DO - 10.12809/hkmj198073
M3 - Review article
C2 - 31796643
AN - SCOPUS:85076613497
SN - 1024-2708
VL - 25
SP - 473
EP - 482
JO - Hong Kong Medical Journal
JF - Hong Kong Medical Journal
IS - 6
ER -