The DemTect in Clinical Practice: The Sensitivity and Specificity of a Cognitive Screening Instrument

Cognitive screening tests are helpful instruments to support the diagnosis of dementia. The DemTect, introduced in 2000, is a screening instrument that is nowadays frequently used in German speaking countries; an English version also exists. The main goal of its development was a high sensitivity to detect patients with dementia in early stages of the disease and also patients with mild cognitive impairment. In this article, we present results regarding the clinical use of the DemTect in different groups of patients with a special focus on its sensitivity and specificity. In summary, the DemTect is effective in screening for patients with dementias of different etiology - Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia and also in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Preliminary but positive results also exist for patients with Parkinson's disease and dementia. In all studies the DemTect was highly sensitive for dementia-related cognitive dysfunction. Accordingly, the DemTect is recommended as a cognitive screening test in the German guidelines for diagnosis and therapy of Alzheimer dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies.