Most accurate screening methods from our study, overall group and subgroups based on age and cognitive status. Our preferred screening approaches highlighted in bold
| Screening method | Sensitivity* (95% CI) | Specificity* (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General hospital inpatients (n=265) | Single test | MOTYB | 83.3% (69.8–92.5) | 90.8% (86.1–94.3) |
| Simultaneous tests | MOTYB/evidence of confusion (either positive = positive) | 93.8% (82.8–98.6) | 84.7% (79.2–89.2) | |
| MOTYB/SSF4 (either failed = positive) | 93.8% (82.8–98.6) | 81.1% (75.2–86.1) | ||
| Older inpatients, ≥69 years (n=133) | Single test | MOTYB | 83.8% (68–93.8) | 89.6% (81.7–94.9) |
| Younger inpatients, ≤ 69 years (n=132) | Single test | Evidence of confusion | 90.9% (58.7–98.5) | 92.5% (86.2–96.5) |
| Simultaneous tests | SSF4/evidence of confusion (either positive = positive) | 100% (73.3–100) | 87.5% (80.2–92.8) | |
| SSF4/MOTYB (either positive = positive) | 100% (73.3–100) | 86.8% (79.4–92.2) | ||
| Patients with known dementia (n=31) | Single test | MOTYB | 87.5% (67.6–97.2) | 71.4% (29.3–95.5) |
| Patients with no history of dementia (n=154) | Simultaneous tests | MOTYB/SSF4 (either positive = positive) | 87.5% (67.6–97.2) | 86.3% (79.5–91.6) |
*Sensitivities and specificities with 95% CIs based only on results from our study.
MOTYB, months of the year backwards test; ssf4, spatial span forwards with a cut-off of 4.