How to examine patients using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale.

The Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) examination has been widely recommended for periodic screening for tardive dyskinesia and follow-up of patients diagnosed with the disorder. However, few guidelines exist about how to use the examination in clinical practice. The authors discuss for whom, when, and how the AIMS examination can be used in a multidisciplinary setting; amplify the original instructions for the examination; and propose conventions to clarify scoring. Noting that the AIMS examination is not specific for tardive dyskinesia, they discuss a clinical approach to the patient who is found to have abnormal movements. The AIMS examination is best conducted within the context of an ongoing treatment program, the authors say, and should be part of the informed consent process necessary with patients treated with neuroleptic drugs.

[1]  W. Glazer,et al.  A tardive dyskinesia clinic in a mental health center. , 1981, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[2]  C. Marsden,et al.  Tardive dystonia , 1982, Neurology.

[3]  C. Germer,et al.  Training hospital clinicians to diagnose tardive dyskinesia. , 1984, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[4]  Moore Dc,et al.  Tremor and tardive dyskinesia. , 1986 .

[5]  J. Larum,et al.  A tardive dyskinesia monitoring policy for applied facilities. , 1983, Psychopharmacology bulletin.

[6]  P. Weiden,et al.  A clinical guide for diagnosing and managing patients with drug-induced dysphagia. , 1986, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[7]  G. Gardos,et al.  The prognosis of tardive dyskinesia. , 1983, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[8]  M. Munetz,et al.  Distinguishing Akathisia and Tardive Dyskinesia: A Review of the Literature , 1983, Journal of clinical psychopharmacology.

[9]  Informing patients about tardive dyskinesia. , 1985, Archives of general psychiatry.

[10]  S. I. Kramer,et al.  Assessment of Tardive Dyskinesia Using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale , 1985, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[11]  T. Craig,et al.  The coexistence of parkinsonism-like symptoms and tardive dyskinesia. , 1982, American Journal of Psychiatry.

[12]  G. Simpson,et al.  A RATING SCALE FOR EXTRAPYRAMIDAL SIDE EFFECTS , 1970, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[13]  Munetz Mr,et al.  Screening for tardive dyskinesia. , 1986 .

[14]  J. Rey,et al.  Tardive Dyskinesia: Fluctuating Patient or Fluctuating Rater , 1984, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[15]  L. M. Brenner,et al.  Tardive dyskinesia. A discontinuation study. , 1984, Archives of general psychiatry.

[16]  J. Kane,et al.  Research diagnoses for tardive dyskinesia. , 1982, Archives of general psychiatry.

[17]  G. Alexopoulos.  Lack of complaints in schizophrenics with tardive dyskinesia. , 1979, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[18]  D. Jeste,et al.  Understanding and Treating Tardive Dyskinesia , 1982 .