Objectives : Delirium is a highly prevalent disease that occurs in about 1520% of all general admissions to hospital, but there is no standardized rating scale that identifies and assesses the symptom severity for delirium in Kore<3. The Deliruim Rating Scale (DRS) is a widely used delirium rating instrument that specifically, sensitively, and reliably measures delirium symptoms. Tfiis study addresses the reliability and validity of Korean version of Delirium Rating Scale(KDRS) in Korea.
Methods : 28 patients with delirium, 28 patients with dementia, 27 patients with schizophrenia, and 21 patients with other mental disorder by DSMIV entered this study. All patients received a structured psychopathology assessment, including KDRS, Korean version of MiniMental Status Examination(MMSEK), Clinical Global Impression scale(CGI) and in addition, ;schizophrenia group had done Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale(BPRS). Each instrument scores were compared among the four diagnostic groups by oneway analysis of variance, with post hoc comparisons to determine where the difference lie. KDRS scores were compared with `after usual treatment´ scores in a subset of delirious subjects. Cutoff scores for KDRS were determined by using receiveroperator characteristic (ROC) analyses to determine acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity. Intersubtest Pearson´s correlations, Cronbach´s alpha coefficient to assess internal consistency, and interrater reliability were used for the assessment of reliability of KDRSResults : The mean KDRS score was significantly higher in the delirium group compared with each of the other groups. But mean MMSEK score was not significantly different between delirium and dementia group. Area under curve of KDRS was 0.998(S.E=0.002) and its optimal cutoff point for delirium was estimated as 16.5. KDRS score after usual treatment improved from a mean (S.D) of 23.5(3.2) to 3.1 (1.7) , indicating an ability to measure the severity of delirium. KDRS was found to have significantly high internal consistency(Cronbach´s alpha coefficient=0.88), interrater reliability (r=0.98, p<0.0001).
Conclusion : We confirmed that KDRS is a reliable, valid, and useful diagnostic instrument for delirium.
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