Screening Devices for Cognitive Capacity

Excerpt

Two important articles (1, 2) on the development and implementation of a new device for screening for evidence of a cognitive-organic mental syndrome appear in this issue. We do need a better brief screening examination than what is available (3). The currently used instruments, the Cognitive Capacity Screening Examination (CCSE) and the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMMS), have high rates of false-positive and false-negative results (4, 5).

The new instrument, the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE), has many features that improve the conceptual framework and format of brief screening instruments. Several cognitive domains are scored independently and the scores displayed visually