Short CAM: Short-form Confusion Assessment Method
1990The four-feature short form of the original CAM family, not a tool first created in 2019. The 2019 nursing study is an implementation comparison and reported very low sensitivity in that workflow.
Classification
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Tool and original sources
Copyright restrictions mean that a copy of the Short CAM cannot be provided on this website. Official materials are available from Delirium Central. Google Images may also help you see what the form looks like.
Original and selected diagnostic-accuracy papers
- Principal sourceInouye SK, van Dyck CH, Alessi CA, Balkin S, Siegal AP, Horwitz RI. Clarifying confusion: the confusion assessment method. A new method for detection of delirium. Annals of internal medicine. 1990;113(12):941-8. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-113-12-941. PMID: 2240918.
This is the principal published source for Short CAM. It is the main source for the method, its intended use and the evidence available at publication.
- Selected diagnostic-accuracy studyHeinrich TW, Kato H, Emanuel C, Denson S. Improving the Validity of Nurse-Based Delirium Screening: A Head-to-Head Comparison of Nursing Delirium-Screening Scale and Short Confusion Assessment Method. Psychosomatics. 2019;60(2):172-178. doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2018.09.002. PMID: 31416628.
This diagnostic-accuracy study evaluated Short CAM in general medical hospital units against a DSM-5 clinical assessment. It reported sensitivity of 8.6% and specificity of 100% in 192 general medical inpatients; 35 delirium cases.
At a glance
- Purpose
- Episodic assessment
- Population
- Adult
- Setting
- General / acute hospital
- Time
- ~5-10 min including the supporting interview or cognitive assessment
- Items
- 4
- Score or threshold
- Feature-based Short CAM classification; see the authorised materials.
Format: A four-feature CAM-family rating supported by an interview or cognitive assessment, commonly taking about 5–10 minutes overall. Prompts, feature wording and the decision rule are not reproduced here.
Evidence
Reported sensitivity and specificity
Later validation or evaluation · 2019 — pmid:31416628
- Denominator
- Reported source unit: 192 (analysis unit not fully reconciled)
- Reference standard
- Two blinded physician DSM-5 delirium assessments
Earliest DTA evaluation identified in the current audit; see the linked source and methodological caveats.
More evidence and citation details
- Full name
- Short-form Confusion Assessment Method
- Also known as
- Short-CAM, short form CAM
- Related profiles
- CAM
- Evidence summary
- pooled-family-evidence
- Diagnostic-accuracy studies
- 1
- Reference standard
- Two blinded physician DSM-5 delirium assessments
- Citation
- Inouye SK, van Dyck CH, Alessi CA, Balkin S, Siegal AP, Horwitz RI Clarifying confusion: the Confusion Assessment Method. A new method for detection of delirium Annals of Internal Medicine. 1990;113(12):941-948. PMID 2240918
Copyright and reuse
- Version
- Use the current Short CAM supplied by the author-led resource page
- Rights holder
- Hospital Elder Life Program (copyright); Aging Brain Center (permissions administrator)
- Licence
- ALL-RIGHTS-RESERVED-PERMISSION-REQUIRED
- Information checked
- 2026-07-19
Instrument-specific terms apply. See the access and copyright policy or send a correction.
Sources checked 2026-07-29. How profiles are prepared.