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The Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen (Qmci)

  • Chapter
Cognitive Screening Instruments

Abstract

Differentiating patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from those with subjective memory complaints (SMC) and dementia is important but challenging. Few short cognitive screening instruments with sufficient sensitivity and specificity are available for this purpose in busy clinical settings. The Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment screen (Qmci) is a new, short (3–5 min) cognitive screening instrument. Composed of six subtests: orientation, registration, clock drawing, delayed recall, verbal fluency and logical memory, the Qmci has excellent accuracy and is highly sensitive and specific at differentiating normal cognition from SMC, MCI and early dementia. The Qmci is valid in different settings including memory clinics, general geriatric clinics, movement disorder clinics, and in rehabilitation and general practice. Originally validated in a Canadian sample, it has recently been externally validated in Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands, Turkey and Italy. It is available for clinical and educational use at: http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/05/18/ageing.afs059/suppl/DC1 and www.Qmci.org. Cut-off scores, adjusted for age and education, and a new smartphone and tablet computer application (http://www.doctot.com/doctot-apps/dementia-app/) are now available. Further research, with larger sample sizes, is underway to confirm its utility against other short instruments including those designed specifically to detect MCI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility Galway, National University of Ireland, Geata an Eolais, University Road, Galway, Ireland

    Rónán O’Caoimh

  2. Centre for Gerontology and Rehabilitation, University College Cork, St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, Cork City, Ireland

    Rónán O’Caoimh & D. William Molloy

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  1. Rónán O’Caoimh
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  2. D. William Molloy
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Correspondence to Rónán O’Caoimh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cognitive Function Clinic, Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Liverpool, UK

    A. J. Larner

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O’Caoimh, R., Molloy, D.W. (2017). The Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen (Qmci). In: Larner, A.J. (eds) Cognitive Screening Instruments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44775-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44775-9_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44774-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44775-9

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