Observational scale and geriatric depression scale of yesavage to identify depressive symptoms in older patients

The diagnosis of depression by clinical interview may be difficult in the patients with communication problems (aphasia, severe cognitive impairment or severe deafness). In these cases, depressive symptoms may be observedby others (nurses and caregivers). The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of an observational scale to identify depression in older patients. Seventy-six institutionalized patients in an intermediate-long-term care center were evaluated. Of them, 39 were excluded because they were unable to perform a clinical interview, needed to diagnose depression. Of the excluded patients, 18 had aphasia, 7 showed severe cognitive impairment: their mini mental state examination (MMSE) score 5, in the present study, obtained a sensitivity of 60 %, a specificity of 81 %, a positive predictive value of 69 %, and a negative predictive value of 75 %. We concluded that (i) the OS has been useful for identifying depressive symptoms with an acceptable sensitivity and specificity, and (ii) the OS may be an alternative to detect depression in patients who are unable to perform a clinical interview.