Barry P P, Moskowitz M A
Geriatrics Section, Boston University Medical Center.
Arch Intern Med. 1988 Sep;148(9):1914-8.
Evaluation of the elderly demented patient includes a search for treatable diseases; recommendations for this approach have been based on reports of a high prevalence of "reversible" dementia in several series of patients in the medical literature. A critical review of the methodology of these reports was undertaken to determine their validity as sources for the protocols often recommended. Several methodologic flaws were found in many studies that recommended extensive "screening" of the demented elderly, limiting their usefulness as resources. More carefully designed studies are needed to understand better the frequency and etiology of reversible causes of dementia.
对老年痴呆患者的评估包括寻找可治疗的疾病；这种评估方法的建议是基于医学文献中几个患者系列报道的“可逆性”痴呆的高患病率。对这些报道的方法进行了批判性回顾，以确定它们作为经常推荐的方案来源的有效性。在许多建议对老年痴呆患者进行广泛“筛查”的研究中发现了几个方法学缺陷，这限制了它们作为参考资料的有用性。需要更精心设计的研究，以更好地了解痴呆可逆病因的频率和病因。
