The Folstein Mini-mental State Examination
Before taking a history it is important to assess whether the patient is capable of giving accurate information. It may become obvious after the first few orientation questions that the patient cannot provide a reliable history and a collateral history should be sought from relatives, care staff, GPs, hospital notes and clinic letters.
Performing a mini-mental state assessment can be particularly beneficial in the ED setting.
The full Folstein mini-mental state assessment consists of 30 questions and can be time consuming.
Alternatively, much more suitable to perform in the ED is the abbreviated mental test, a validated alternative assessment [12].
What score on the abbreviated mental test indicates cognitive impairment?
A score of six or less