Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB) is a very useful tool for diagnosis of probable mild Alzheimer´s disease in a geriatric clinic

Abstract

The diagnosis of early signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major challenge in a heterogeneous population. Objective To investigate the use of the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB) for the diagnosis of mild AD in a geriatric outpatient unit of a public hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Method BCSB was administered to 51 elderly adults with a clinical diagnosis of probable AD and 123 older adults without dementia (non-AD). Results AD patients performed worse than non-AD group in all BCSB tests, except Clock Drawing (p = 0.10). The ROC curves and Logistic Regression analysis indicated that delayed recall in the figure memory test was the best predictor, screening mild AD patients with sensibility and specificity superior to 80%. Conclusion The BCSB was accurate in identifying people with AD in a geriatric outpatient clinic at a public hospital, including elderly people with chronic diseases, physical frailty and cognitive impairment

Comparison of DSM‐IV and DSM‐5 dementia criteria among older people living in a community sample

“…Eligible subjects completed the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease neuropsychological battery (CERAD) and the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB), as well as the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule with 36 items (WHODAS). We then used validated Brazilian cut‐points to establish the presence of memory impairment (CERAD word list recall <3 or delay memory of the BCSB <5), impaired fluency (1‐minute list yielding <9 animals), impaired naming (Boston naming test score <12), impaired clock drawing (score <3), or impaired constructional praxis (CERAD subscore <9) . Impaired social or occupational function was defined by a WHODAS score >40…”

Screening for Alzheimer's disease in low-educated or illiterate older adults in Brazil: a systematic review

“…However, the authors acknowledged that their findings might not be representative of other regions in Brazil, as the sample came from a private clinic in a city with a high human development index. In fact, other Brazilian studies have suggested that the Clock Drawing Test may have limited diagnostic ability for AD 24 or dementia 46 diagnoses in the context of low education.…”

“…It includes the Figure Memory Test, the Clock Drawing Test and Verbal Fluency animal category. Fichman-Charchat et al 24 documented that each component contributed to the AD diagnosis, in a clinical sample that had heterogeneous clinical, cognitive and demographic characteristics, reflecting the context of several outpatient clinics in low income countries. In this study the Verbal Fluency and the Clock Drawing Test were significantly affected by education and had a lower diagnostic accuracy 24 .…”

“…The Brief Cognitive Screening Battery includes the Figure Memory Test, Verbal Fluency and the Clock Drawing Test, which may be applied with the MMSE for the detection of AD 31 . Fichman-Charchat et al 24 investigated the use of the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery for the diagnosis of mild AD in a geriatric outpatient unit of a public hospital. All the measures in the battery were influenced by age, and the Verbal Fluency and the Clock Drawing Test were correlated with educational level.…”

“…The Figure Memory Test measured, in particular, the delayed recall measure, which showed greater ability to identify elderly patients with probable AD. The Brief Cognitive Screening Battery seemed to contribute to an AD diagnosis in groups with heterogeneous educational levels 24 .…”