| Abbreviated mental test score | |
| Purpose: | determine dementia in the elderly |
| Inventor: | Hodkinson |
The Abbreviated Mental Test score (AMTS) is a 10-point test for rapidly assessing elderly patients for the possibility of dementia. It was first used in 1972,[1] [2] and is now sometimes also used to assess for mental confusion (including delirium) and other cognitive impairments.
A 4-item version called the Abbreviated Mental Test - 4 (AMT4) has been developed and tested.[3]
The following questions are put to the patient. Each question correctly answered scores one point. A score of 7–8 or less suggests cognitive impairment at the time of testing,[4] although further and more formal tests are necessary to confirm a diagnosis of dementia, delirium or other causes of cognitive impairment. Culturally-specific questions may vary based on region.[4]
| Question | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| What is your age? (1 point) | ||
| What is the time to the nearest hour? (1 point) | ||
| Give the patient an address, and ask him or her to repeat it at the end of the test. (1 point)e.g. 42 West Street | ||
| What is the year? (1 point) | ||
| What is the name of this place (e.g. hospital) (1 point) | ||
| Can the patient recognize two persons (the doctor, nurse, home help, etc.)? (1 point) | ||
| What is your date of birth? (day and month sufficient) (1 point) | ||
| In what year did World War 2 end? (1 point)(other dates can be used, with a preference for dates some time in the past.) | ||
| Name the current President/Prime Minister/Monarch. (1 point) | ||
| Count backwards from 20 down to 1. (1 point) |
The AMT4 uses 4 items from the AMTS: (i) What is your age? (ii) What is your date of birth? (iii) What is the name of this place? (iv) What is the year? A cut off score of 3/4 performs comparably to an AMTS cut-off score of 8/9.[3] The AMT4 is part of the 4AT scale for delirium.