McIntyre L, Frank J
J Fam Pract. 1987 Apr;24(4):399-404.
An adequate history from the patient and a family member, an examination for signs and symptoms suggestive of contributing organic disease, plus an individualized diagnostic battery of laboratory tests are sufficient workup for most patients presenting with the dementia syndrome. Electroencephalography, computerized axial tomographic scanning, or psychometric testing are not usually required. The results of eight studies investigating demented individuals are reviewed. Across these studies, 56 percent of cases were attributable to primary dementia, 15 percent were secondary to reversible causes, 13 percent were secondary to irreversible conditions, and 15 percent of individuals had been wrongly labeled demented. Of reversible dementias including depression, 56 percent of patients improved with therapy. Metabolic disorders were associated with about 25 percent of reversible dementias and accounted for less than 5 percent of all patients investigated for the dementia syndrome.
从患者及其家属处获取充分的病史，对提示有相关器质性疾病的体征和症状进行检查，再加上一套针对个体的实验室诊断检测，对大多数表现出痴呆综合征的患者来说，这些就足够了。通常不需要脑电图、计算机断层扫描或心理测试。本文回顾了八项针对痴呆患者的研究结果。在这些研究中，56%的病例归因于原发性痴呆，15%继发于可逆性病因，13%继发于不可逆性疾病，15%的个体被错误地诊断为痴呆。在包括抑郁症在内的可逆性痴呆中，56%的患者经治疗后病情有所改善。代谢紊乱与约25%的可逆性痴呆有关，在所有接受痴呆综合征检查的患者中占比不到5%。
