Dix Urs Meiberth, Michael Armin Rapp, Frank Jessen

• Ziel der Studie Erfassung der Strukturen zur Frühdiagnostik von Demenzen an Krankenhäusern in Deutschland. Methodik Fragebogenerhebung. Ergebnisse 14 % von 1758 kontaktierten Einrichtungen antworteten. 52 % berichteten über ein entsprechendes Angebot, zum großen Teil mit leitlinienorientierten Verfahren, wie Liquordiagnostik. Das Diagnosespektrum umfasste zu 46 % Demenzen und zu 41 % Diagnosen der leichten oder subjektiven kognitiven Störung. Schlussfolgerung Leitlinienbasierte Diagnostik und Früherkennungskonzepte sind in Gedächtnisambulanzen weitgehend etabliert.
• Objective To assess the structures for early and differential diagnosis of dementia in hospitals in Germany. Methods Written questionnaire to all German hospitals. Results 14 % of 1.758 hospitals responded. Of those, 52 % reported to offer a special service for early dementia diagnosis, mostly on an outpatient basis. The applied methods were in agreement with the national guideline for diagnosis and treatment of dementias, including technical diagnostics, such as neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid examinations. 46 % of the diagnostic spectrum were dementia. 41 % were either diagnosed as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or as subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Conclusion Despite mostly insufficient reimbursement, a large proportion of the responding hospitals offer a specialized service, which largely adheres to guideline-based diagnostic procedures. The concepts of at-risk and prodromal stages of dementia seem to be largely established.