Comparison of a system of staff prompting with a programmable electronic diary in a patient with Korsakoff's syndrome.

The effect of a programmable electronic diary was compared with a system of staff prompting on the attendance at Occupational Therapy groups of a patient with Korsakoff's syndrome. Throughout the baseline period, the subject did not attend any groups. With the help of verbal prompting and other staff intervention, his attendance at groups increased significantly. By the fourteeth week he was attending all groups without verbal prompting apparently by using other environmental cues. The introduction of the electronic diary at this point was not found to increase the subject's attendance at groups further or to reduce the need for verbal prompting presumably due to a "ceiling effect". These findings suggest that despite severe memory impairment, the patient with Korsakoff's syndrome is able to learn new information. The potential of the electronic diary for reducing staff input and its use in a less predictable setting need to be evaluated further.