A prospective study to compare three depression screening tools in patients who are terminally ill.

Full Abstract

Depression is a significant symptom for approximately one in four palliative care patients. This study investigates the performance of three screening tools. Patients were asked to verbally rate their mood on a scale of 0-10; to respond "yes" or "no" to the question "Are you depressed?," and to complete the Edinburgh depression scale. They were also interviewed using a semi-structured clinical interview according to DSM-IV criteria. Complete data was available for 74 patients. For the single question, a "yes" answer had a sensitivity of 55% and specificity 74%. The Edinburgh depression scale at a cut-off point of > or =13 had a sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 80%. The verbal mood item with a cut-off point of > or =3 had a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 43%. The Edinburgh depression scale proved to be the most reliable instrument for detecting clinical depression in palliative care patients.

Author information

Author/s: Lloyd-Williams, Mari (M); Dennis, Mick (M); Taylor, Fiona (F);

Affiliation: Department of Primary Care, University of Liverpool Medical School, Harrison Hughes Building, Liverpool L69 3GB, UK. mlw(-atsign-)liv.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: General hospital psychiatry (Gen Hosp Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2004 Sep-Oct; vol 26 (issue 5) : pp 384-9

Dates: Created 2004/10/11; Completed 2005/02/16; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 15474638, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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