Prediction rules for computed tomography in the dementia assessment: do they predict clinical utility of CT?

✍ Scribed by Kelly A. Condefer; Judith Haworth; Gordon K. Wilcock

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 43 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.812

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Neuroimaging is widely employed in the dementia assessment in refining clinical decision‐making. However, with rising interest in cost‐effective medical practice, efforts have been made in the literature to define clinical prediction rules that select for a subgroup of patients who would most likely benefit from neuroimaging. This short study examined the ability of a group of published clinical predictors to identify patients whose diagnoses or management would be influenced by CT scan results. The study finds that none of the published predictors bears a significant relationship to actual influence of CT scans in a group of memory clinic patients, highlighting the need for the development of clinical predictors for neuroimaging that will impact patient care. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.