Approach to memory disturbance
Delirium, dementia or depression first; subjective decline versus MCI versus dementia; the reversible screen; transient global amnesia; and the rapidly progressive cases you can't miss.
Tier 1Approach to a presentation
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Sort the patient into delirium, dementia, depression or subjective decline before anything else. They often coexist.
- A collateral history from someone who knows the patient is worth more than any bedside test.
- Function decides the label: objective impairment with preserved independence is mild cognitive impairment (MCI); loss of independence is dementia.
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Sources
- Clinical Practice Guidelines and Principles of Care for People with DementiaAU/NZNHMRC Partnership Centre for Dealing with Cognitive and Related Functional Decline in Older People (Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre), University of Sydney, 2016
- Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers (NG97)National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2018
- Delirium Clinical Care StandardAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2021
- Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission (Livingston G et al. Lancet 2024;404:572-628)The Lancet, 2024
- Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS)AU/NZDementia Australia
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy