The use of the Face-Hand Test to screen for organic brain syndromes: a pilot study

Authors

  • Sergio Luís Blay Escola Paulista de Medicina; Departamento de Psiquiatria
  • Jair de Jesus Mari Escola Paulista de Medicina; Departamento de Psiquiatria
  • Luiz Roberto Ramos Escola Paulista de Medicina; Departamento de Medicina Preventiva

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89101989000500006

Keywords:

Mass screening^i2^smeth, Face-Hand Test, Organic mental disorders^i2^sprevent, Psychiatric status rating scales, Aged

Abstract

A reduced version of the Face-Hand Test (FHT), the FHT-R, was applied to a random sample of 91 elderly subjects living in the community (S. Paulo-Brazil), to study the instrument's ability to detect Organic Brain Syndromes (OBS). The scores of the FHT-R test were then compared with a psychiatric assessment using the Clinical Interview Schedule. Five persons were regarded as OBS "cases" and 86 as OBS "non cases". At the cut-off point 0/1 the validity coefficients were as follows: Sensitivity 60%, Specificity 94%, Positive Predictive Value 38%, Negative Predictive Value 98% and Overall Misclassification Rate 8%. The usefulness of this clinical test to screen for OBS in epidemiological surveys is discussed.

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Published

1989-10-01

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 5 (1989)

Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

Blay, S. L., Mari, J. de J., & Ramos, L. R. (1989). The use of the Face-Hand Test to screen for organic brain syndromes: a pilot study. Revista De Saúde Pública, 23(5), 395-400. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89101989000500006