MDAS — Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale

1997

Ten-item severity measure developed in cancer and AIDS inpatients; suited to repeated assessments in research and palliative settings.

Severity measurementMultiple validation studies

Full nameMemorial Delirium Assessment Scale

Also known asMDAS

PurposeSeverity measurement

PopulationAdult

SettingPalliative care, General / acute hospital

Items10

Administrationvariable

EvidenceMultiple validation studies

Reference typeOriginal validation study

Reference standardDSM-III-R/IV

Validation samplen = 33 + 51

Cut-off / scoringContinuous severity (0–30)

ReliabilityInter-rater 0.92; α 0.91

Strengths＋ Repeatable severity measure; strong in palliative/oncology

Limitations− Not a diagnostic screen

ReferenceBreitbart W, Rosenfeld B, Roth A, et al. The Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale. J Pain Symptom Manage. 1997;13(3):128-37. PMID 9114631

Download RIS Download BibTeX DOI ↗ Original validation study ↗Official source ↗

Key studies

Further validation in advanced cancer (2000)

* Where shown, sensitivity/specificity are from the cited validation cohort and are not pooled estimates. Citation metadata was checked against PubMed or the publisher DOI record; a checked reference does not imply validation, study quality or endorsement. See the Methodology.