Garcia C A, Reding M J, Blass J P
J Am Geriatr Soc. 1981 Sep;29(9):407-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1981.tb02379.x.
Accurate diagnosis of the dementias is difficult. Of 100 patients referred to a specialized outpatient dementia clinic, at least 26 were not demented. Fifteen had depression, 7 had miscellaneous other neuropsychiatric disorders, and 4 were normal. Specialized dementia clinics help to improve diagnostic accuracy. Three diagnostic errors appeared particularly important: failure to recognize depression, especially in the presence of mild organic brain disease; equating brain atrophy on the computerized tomogram with clinical dementia; and failure to distinguish focal from global intellectual impairment. For confirmation, the diagnosis of dementia requires follow-up evaluation, brain biopsy, or autopsy.
痴呆症的准确诊断很困难。在被转诊至一家专门的门诊痴呆症诊所的100名患者中，至少有26人没有患痴呆症。15人患有抑郁症，7人患有其他各种神经精神疾病，4人正常。专门的痴呆症诊所有助于提高诊断准确性。三种诊断错误显得尤为重要：未能识别出抑郁症，尤其是在存在轻度器质性脑疾病的情况下；将计算机断层扫描上的脑萎缩等同于临床痴呆症；以及未能区分局灶性与全面性智力障碍。为了确诊，痴呆症的诊断需要进行随访评估、脑活检或尸检。
