Abstract.
Mini-Cog and Codex (cognitive disorders examination) are brief cognitive screening tests incorporating word-recall and clock drawing tests.
Objective:
To assess and compare the screening accuracy of Mini-Cog and Codex for diagnosis of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in patients attending a dedicated cognitive disorders clinic.
Methods:
Tests were administered to a consecutive cohort of 162 patients, whose reference standard diagnoses based on clinical diagnostic criteria were dementia (44), MCI (26), and subjective memory complaint (92).
Results:
Both Mini-Cog and Codex had high sensitivity (>0.8) for dementia diagnosis, but Codex was more specific. For diagnosis of MCI, Mini-Cog had better sensitivity than Codex. Weighted comparisons of Mini-Cog and Codex showed only marginal net benefit for Mini-Cog for dementia diagnosis but larger net benefit for MCI diagnosis.
Conclusion:
In this pragmatic study both Mini-Cog and Codex were accurate brief screening tests for dementia but Mini-Cog was better for identification of MCI.
Key words:
codex; dementia; Mini-Cog; mild cognitive impairment; sensitivity and specificity
