Potential Bedside Utility of the Clock-Drawing Test in Evaluating Rapid Therapeutic Response in the Natural Course of Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Study

J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2017 Summer;29(3):289-292. doi: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.16090163. Epub 2017 Mar 15.

Abstract

The Clock-Drawing Test (CDT) is a brief, relatively time-efficient, easy to administer at bedside, and well-proven cognitive screening test that assesses a broad range of cognitive abilities in stroke, delirium, and dementia. However, challenges of comprehensive therapeutic outcome evaluations in schizophrenia can also be potentially overcome using CDT. The authors aimed to measure the therapeutic outcome using CDT in 101 schizophrenia patients, irrespective of their diagnostic subtypes. A repeated measures analysis of variance found that improvements on CDT and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were closely correlated, reflecting critical information about therapeutic response measures in schizophrenia.

Keywords: Neuropsychology; Outcome Studies Biological/Pharmacological; Research Design and Methodology; Schizophrenia.

MeSH terms

  • Analysis of Variance
  • Disease Progression
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Hand
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Motor Skills
  • Neuropsychological Tests*
  • Point-of-Care Testing
  • Preliminary Data
  • Schizophrenia / diagnosis*
  • Schizophrenia / therapy*
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome