Validation of the NPI-Q, a brief clinical form of the neuropsychiatric inventory

The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is a validated clinical instrument for evaluating psychopathology in dementia. The authors developed ct brief questionnaire form of the NPI (NPI-Q), intended for use in routine clinical practice, and cross-validated if with the NPI in 60 Alzheimer's patients. Test-retest reliability of the NPI-Q teas acceptable. The prevalence of analogous symptoms reported on the NPI and NPI-Q differed on average by 5%; moderate or severe symptom ratings differed by less than 2%. The NPI-Q provides a brief, reliable, informant-based assessment of neuropsychiatric symptoms and associated caregiver distress that may be suitable for use in general clinical practice.