The Saint Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) Exam is a brief screening assessment used to detect

cognitive impairment Cognitive deficit is an inclusive term to describe any characteristic that acts as a barrier to the cognition process. The term may describe * deficits in overall intelligence (as with intellectual disabilities), * specific and restricted defici ...

. It was developed in 2006 at the

Saint Louis University School of Medicine Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a private, Jesuit medical school. Part of Saint Louis University, the institution was established in 1836. The school has an enrollment of around 700, with about 550 faculty members and 550 residents in ...

Division of

Geriatric Medicine Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros' ...

, in affiliation with a

Veterans' Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

medical center. The test was initially developed using a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

population, but has since been adopted as a screening tool for any individual displaying signs of mild cognitive impairment. The intended population typically consists of individuals 60 years and above that display any signs of cognitive deficit. Unlike other widely-used cognitive screens, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination and

Montreal Cognitive Assessment The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a widely used screening assessment for detecting cognitive impairment. It was created in 1996 by Ziad Nasreddine in Montreal, Quebec. It was validated in the setting of mild cognitive impairment, and has ...

, the SLUMS is free to access and use by all healthcare professionals.

Format

The SLUMS includes 11 questions and is scored on a scale of 1-30. The SLUMS exam requires the individual being tested to perform various tasks, including the following: * Attention tasks * Arithmetic calculations *

Memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...

tasks involving immediate and delayed recall * Naming

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

* Digit span * Drawing a

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...

* Recognizing

shapes A shape or figure is a graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture, or material type. A plane shape or plane figure is constrained to lie o ...

and sizes * Recalling details from a

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

The SLUMS exam tests several cognitive domains, as listed below: *

Verbal memory Verbal memory is a term used in cognitive psychology which refers to memory of words and other abstractions involving language. Verbal encoding Verbal encoding refers to the interpretation of verbal stimuli. Verbal encoding appears to be strongly ...

(13 points) * Attention/concentration (5 points) * Visuospatial/constructional abilities (5 points) *

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

skills (4 points) *

Orientation Orientation may refer to: Positioning in physical space * Map orientation, the relationship between directions on a map and compass directions * Orientation (housing), the position of a building with respect to the sun, a concept in building de ...

(3 points)

Scoring

The SLUMS is scored on a scale of 1-30, with higher scores being associated with greater functional ability, and lower scores associated with greater cognitive impairment. Scoring is dependent on an individual's

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

level, with higher scores expected for individuals who have received a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

education. For individuals with a high school education: * A score of 27-30 would be expected for someone with normal cognition * A score of 21-26 would be expected for someone with mild neurocognitive disorder * A score of 1-20 would be expected for someone with

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

For individuals with less than high school education: * A score of 25-30 would be expected for someone with normal cognition * A score of 20-24 would be expected for someone with mild neurocognitive disorder * A score of 1-19 would be expected for someone with dementia

Efficacy

While there is relatively little research on the reliability and validity of the SLUMS exam, available studies suggest that it exhibits high sensitivity (greater than 95%) and specificity (greater than 95%) in differentiating between individuals with normal cognition from those with dementia. However, the SLUMS has been to found to be less effective at differentiating between normal individuals from those with mild cognitive impairment.

References

{{Neuropsychology tests Mental disorders screening and assessment tools Cognitive tests Neuropsychological tests Geriatrics

Format

Scoring

Efficacy

See also

References