Dementia Work-Up

Diagnosis

DSM-IV Definition:

  • Major impairment in learning and memory plus impairment in handling complex tasks, impairment in reasoning ability, impaired spatial ability and orientation, or impaired language
  • Symptoms significantly interfere with work, usual social activities, relationships
  • Significant decline from previous level of functioning
  • Disturbances are insidious and progressive
  • Disturbances are not occurring exclusively during the course of delirium
  • Disturbances are not accounted for by major psychiatric diagnosis
  • Disturbances are not accounted for by systemic disease or another brain disease

Work-Up

  1. CBC
  2. Chem 10
  3. UA/Utox
  4. ECG, CXR
  5. ETOH
  6. CT/MRI
  7. Consider
    1. LFTs, TSH
    2. B12, RPR, ESR, ANA, Folate, Thiamine, HIV
    3. neuropsych eval
    4. Consider LP, urine heavy metals, EEG

Treatment

Give MVI, thiamine, folate

Source

7/1/09 PANI (Adapted from Donaldson)