This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

GPCOG

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • designed as a GP screening tool for dementia (1)

  • there are two components:
    • a cognitive assessment conducted with the patient
      • patient assessment
        • results >8 assumed to be cognitively intact
        • results < 5 assumed to be cognitively impaired
        • if patient scores 5-8, more information required -> informant questionnaire

    • an informant questionnaire (only considered necessary if the results of the cognitive section are equivocal, ie score 5-8 inclusive)

      • informant questionnaire - for patients requiring a informant questionnaire, scores of 3 or less out of 6 in this section indicates cognitive impairment (2)

Click here for an on-line GPCOG calculator.

The elements and procedure for the GPCOG calculation are outlined below.

GPCOG Patient Examination

  • Unless specified, each question should only be asked once

    • Name and address for subsequent recall
      • state to the patient - "I am going to give you a name and address. After I have said it, I want you to repeat it. Remember this name and address because I am going to ask you to tell it to me again in a few minutes: John Brown, 42 West Street, Kensington" ( a maximum of 4 attempts should be allowed but do not score yet)

    • Time Orientation
      • What is the date? (accept exact only)

    • Clock Drawing (visuospatial functioning)
      • use a paper with a printed circle
      • ask the patient to mark in all the numbers to indicate the hours of a clock (correct spacing required)
        • For a correct response (above), the numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9 should be in the correct quadrants of the circle and the other numbers should be approximately correctly placed
      • ask the patient to mark in hands to show 10 minutes past eleven o'clock (11:10)
        • For a correct response (above), the hands should be pointing to the 11 and the 2, but do not penalise if the respondent fails to distinguish the long and short hands

    • Information
      • ask the patient 'can you tell me something that happened in the news recently?' (recently = in the last week)
        • the respondent is not required to provide extensive details, as long as they demonstrate awareness of a recent news story
        • note though that if a general answer is given, such as "war", "a lot of rain", ask for details. If unable to give details, the answer should be scored as incorrect

    • Recall
      • ask the patient 'What was the name and address I asked you to remember?' Score for each of the 5 components -
        • John,
        • Brown,
        • 42,
        • West Street,
        • Kensington
          • all correct - 5 points
          • 1 error - 4 points
          • 2 errors - 3 points
          • 3 errors - 2 points
          • 4 errors - 1 point
          • 5 errors - 0 points

  • GPCOG Patient Score = /9

    • results >8 or < 5 on the GPCOG patient section were assumed to be cognitively intact or impaired, respectively

GPCOG Informant Interview

Ask the informant: "Compared to a few years ago"

  • Does the patient have more trouble remembering things that have happened recently? yes =0; no = 1

  • Does he or she have more trouble recalling conversations a few days later? yes =0; no = 1

  • When speaking, does the patient have more difficulty in finding the right word or tend to use the wrong words more often? yes =0; no = 1

  • Is the patient less able to manage money and financial affairs (e.g., paying bills, budgeting)? yes =0; no = 1

  • Is the patient less able to manage his or her medication independently? yes =0; no = 1

  • Does the patient need more assistance with transport (either private or public)? yes =0; no = 1

  • Score 1 point for each "no" answer

Informant Score = /6

  • if patient scores 0-3, cognitive impairment is indicated

Combined (overall) score = /15

Reference:

  1. Brodaty H, Pond D, Kemp NM, et al; The GPCOG: a new screening test for dementia designed for general practice. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002 Mar;50(3):530-4.
  2. Brodaty H, Kemp NM, Low L; Characteristics of the GPCOG, a screening tool for cognitive impairment, Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2004; 19:870-74

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.