RAPID progression: tool for screening aggressive course of disease (ACD) in Alzheimer dementia

There is a need for a tool in clinical practice to assess the rate of progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The present study purpose was to develop a tool for screening and progression assessing of AD patients with Aggressive Course of Disease (ACD).

The Thai Realtime Assessment of Progression In Dementia (RAPID) was developed for screening AD patients with ACD through a caregiver questionnaire. At baseline and at a 6-month follow up visit, patients were tested by the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive component (ADAS-Cog), while their caregivers completed the Thai RAPID. The tests were run by a team of psychiatrists in the Department of Psychiatry, Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

Fifty patients with cognitive impairment were recruited. As a screening tool, the Thai RAPID cut-off point of 9-points yielded a fair sensitivity and specificity (0.625 and 0.643, respectively) for rapid progression as defined by 4 point or greater deterioration in ADAS-Cog. As a progression assessment tool, a cutoff point of 3-points yielded a good sensitivity and specificity (0.875 and 0.810, respectively).

The present pilot study suggests that the Thai RAPID can be a valuable tool for the ACD screening and for progression assessment in AD patients.