Validity and reliability of the Thai version of the confusion assessment method.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the validity and reliability of the Thai version of the confusion assessment method (CAM). MATERIAL AND METHOD: One hundred five inpatients who were consulted with the psychiatric consultation-liaison service unit, were enrolled in the present study. The validity assessment of the Thai version of the CAM was done by comparing it with the gold standard diagnosis of delirium by psychiatrists using DSM-IV-TR criteria. The reliability assessment was obtained from a sample of 35 patients assessed by two psychiatric residents. RESULTS: The Thai version of CAM had a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 94.54. The positive predictive value was 93.75% and the negative predictive value was 91.23%. Likelihood ratio showed 16.5-fold risk of delirium positive through using the Thai CAM Interrater reliability in diagnosis of delirium was high (k = 0.77). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the Thai version of CAM is a valid and reliable tool for assessing and diagnosing delirium in Thailand.