Original Research Article

The Rapid Dementia Screening Test (RDST): A New Economical Tool for Detecting Possible Patients with Dementia
Elke Kalbe^a, Pasquale Calabrese^b, Susanne Schwalen^c, Josef Kessler<sup>a

a</sup>Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research, Cologne;
^bUniversity Clinic, Bochum, and
^cJanssen-Cilag GmbH, Neuss, Germany

Address of Corresponding Author

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2003;16:193-199 (DOI: 10.1159/000072802)

  Key Words

• Dementia
• Cognitive screening
• Diagnosis
• General practitioners

  Abstract

The Rapid Dementia Screening Test (RDST) is a new psychometric screening tool to support the diagnosis of dementia. It includes two parts - a word generation task and a number transcoding task; it is short (taking approximately 3 min) and easy to administer, and it is well accepted by patients. After transformation of the raw scores in two age groups (under and over 60 years), the assessed cognitive abilities can be interpreted as age-appropriate or below average with good sensitivity and specificity, and subsequent diagnostic measures can be determined accordingly. The RDST is thus an economical tool for detecting demented patients by general practitioners.

Copyright © 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Elke Kalbe
Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research
Gleueler Strasse 50, DE-50931 Cologne (Germany)
Tel. +49 221 4726312, Fax +49 221 4726298
E-Mail Elke.Kalbe@pet.mpin-koeln.mpg.de

  Article Information

Accepted: February 16, 2003
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 5, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 32