Thursday, March 20, 2008

Thursday March 20, 2008
MINI MENTAL STATUS EXAM (MMSE)

Although older adults are at higher risk than the rest of the population, changes in cognitive function often call for prompt and aggressive action, particularly in hospital / ICU setting. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a tool that can be used systematically. It is an 11-question measure that tests five areas of cognitive function:

  1. orientation,
  2. registration,
  3. attention and calculation,
  4. recall, and
  5. language

The maximum score is 30. A score of 23 or lower is indicative of cognitive impairment. The MMSE takes only 5-10 minutes to administer and has been validated in clinical practice.






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