Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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To determine if DSM-III criteria or clinical or discharge diagnoses, reviewed retrospectively, are as accurate an indicator of the presence of delirium as prospective evaluation by a psychiatrist. ⋯ The retrospective medical record review is very imprecise in establishing the diagnosis of delirium. As research in this field moves from descriptive epidemiology to studies of pathogenesis and treatment, prospective designs will be needed.
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(1) to evaluate objectively changes in cognitive function and electrophysiologic characteristics associated with hypothyroidism of varying severity and duration in primarily older persons; (2) to determine whether these changes are reversible when a euthyroid state has been attained after treatment with thyroid hormone. ⋯ Hypothyroidism in non-demented older adults is associated with impairments in learning, word fluency, visual-spatial abilities, and some aspect of attention, visual scanning, and motor speed. The MMS by itself was sensitive in differentiating hypothyroid patients with cognitive deficits from controls, while electrophysiological measures did not generally differentiate the hypothyroid patients from normal controls. The MMS was not sensitive to treatment effects, but treatment was associated with significant improvements in three of the most sensitive measures of cognitive dysfunction.