mental status examination (MSE)

Introduction

A descriptive inventory of behavior & a method by which to systematically organize & record observations which describe a patient's behavior.

Function

• aid in understanting a patient's psychological state
• help in diagnosis
• baseline for comparison of future assessments
• written, descriptive record of the patient

Components:

• appearance
  • an individualized & vivid portrait of the patient
• behavior
  • posture
  • gait
  • tremors
• speech
  • rate
  • volume
• attitude
  • indicates how patients may get along with others
  • (e.g. suspicious, domineering, submissive, provocative uncooperative)
• feelings
  • affect
  • mood
• perception
  • illusions
  • hallucinations
• orientation
  • orientation to time, place, person
• thinking
  • level of consciousness
  • continuity of thinking
  • obsessions, compulsions
  • phobias
  • depersonalization & derealization
  • suicidal or homicidal thinking
  • delusions
  • ideas of reference or influence
• higher intellectual function
  • memory
  • attention & concentration
  • general information, intelligence
  • calculation
  • abstraction
  • language
  • visual/spacial skills
  • judgement, insight

Indications

• standardized cognitive testing for elderly who report short-term memory loss & deteriorating independence
  • allows for screening in multiple domains, & for deficits that may assist with localization & diagnosis

More general terms

• cognitive assessment

More specific terms

• Alzheimer's disease assessment scale (ADAS)
• Blessed dementia scale (BDS)
• Brief cognitive rating scale (BCRS)
• clinical dementia rating scale (CDR)
• Cognetivity's Integrated Cognitive Assessment (CognICA)
• cognitive abilities screening instruments (CASI)
• consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease word list (CA-CWL)
• dementia screening questionnaire for individuals with intellectual disabilities (DSIID)
• Folstein Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE)
• general practioner assessment of cognition (GPCOG)
• geriatric evolution by relative's rating (GERRI)
• Mattis dementia rating scale (MDRS)
• memory impairment screen (MIS)
• MiniCog
• Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) tool
• neurobehavioral cognitive status examination (NCSE)
• neurobehavioral rating scale (NBRS)
• Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination (SLUMS)
• Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE)
• short portable mental status questionnaire (SPMSQ)
• Sweet 16

Additional terms

• cognitive scale
• neuropsychologic testing