Evaluation of temporal and spatial disorientation in elderly patients with cognitive impairment

A battery of tests probing orientation in time and space were administered (Folstein mini mental state examination: MMSE; Berg's orientation scale for geriatric patients: OSGP; Hasegawa dementia screening scale: DSS; Fishback Philadelphia geriatric center mental status questionnaire: PGCMSQ; Jacobs cognitive capacity screening examination; CCSE), with the aim at establishing their sensitivity for evaluating performance in orientation skills. In a group of patients with dementing disease and comorbid disorders of recent onset, reality orientation therapy (ROT) was administered 5 days per week for one month in daily one-hour treatment sessions; only the OSGP differed from the MMSE in terms of mean performance scores. This suggests that the OSGP might be particularly well suited for identifying the efficacy of ROT, at least in terms of recovery of orientation functions.