Geriatric Assessments : Abbreviated Mental Test Score / AMTS

 Geriatric Assessments : Abbreviated Mental Test Score / AMTS

This is a set of ten questions designed to give the examiner a rough idea of the mental state of the patient.

Total score : 10

The questions, and their conditions for one point each, are:

1) Age - must be correct.

2) Time, without looking at a timepiece, correct to the nearest hour.

3) 42, West Street - given as at test of immediate memory and retested at the end.

4) Month - must be exact.

5) Year - exact, except in Jan or Feb when last year is OK.

6) Name of place, or type of place or town ("in hospital" is insufficient .

7) Date of birth - exact

8) Start of WWI, exact - 1914

9) Name of the present monarch.

10) Counting backwards from 20 to 0, can prompt to 18 and patient may self-correct or hesitate.

Check the address recall from point No 3.'

Assessing / Interpretation of the AMTS :

The patient scores one point for each correct answer in the mental test score as long as the criteria are fulfilled, e.g. the time is given correct to the nearest hour.

A score of 8 to 10 is normal - note that it is very easy for a patient not to know the time.

A score of 7 is probably abnormal, and any less is definitely abnormal.

The score is invalid if the patient:

is delirious

has an affective disorder.

Notes:

There is evidence that clinicians use variants on these questions when undertaking a 10-point mini-mental test score.

The above AMTS is based on the format taught to Oxford University medical students .

The stated AMTS varies from the original by questioning about month when the original mini-mental test asked about recognition of two people - score if roles of two people correctly recognised - for example, doctor and nurse