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BMC Primary Care
Published in: BMC Primary Care 1/2011

Open Access 01-12-2011 | Correspondence

Diagnosing dementia: No easy job

Authors: Frank Buntinx, Jan De Lepeleire, Louis Paquay, Steve Iliffe, Birgitte Schoenmakers

Published in: BMC Primary Care | Issue 1/2011

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Abstract

Background

From both clinical experience and research we learned that in complex progressive disorders such as dementia, diagnosis includes multiple steps, each with their own clinical and research characteristics.

Discussion

Diagnosing starts with a trigger phase in which the GP gradually realizes that dementia may be emerging. This is followed by a disease-oriented diagnosis and subsequently a care -oriented diagnosis. In parallel the GP should consider the consequences of this process for the caregiver and the interaction between both. As soon as a comprehensive diagnosis and care plan are available, monitoring follows.

Summary

We propose to split the diagnostic process into four diagnostic steps, followed by a monitoring phase. We recommend to include these steps when designing studies on screening, diagnosis and monitoring of patients with dementia and their families.
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Metadata
Title
Diagnosing dementia: No easy job
Authors
Frank Buntinx
Jan De Lepeleire
Louis Paquay
Steve Iliffe
Birgitte Schoenmakers
Publication date
01-12-2011
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Primary Care / Issue 1/2011
Electronic ISSN: 2731-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-12-60

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