# Memory or Attention Problem

- Category: chronic
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class PS17 - condition scope only, no dose · Mild Cognitive Impairment - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK599514/ · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Memory or Attention Problem - disease-level clinical article (memory-or-attention-problem-clinical.txt)

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice)

## Complete treatment card

```text
MEMORY OR ATTENTION PROBLEM
Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class PS17 -
         condition scope only, no dose · Mild Cognitive Impairment - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf -
         https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK599514/ · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine
         given in primary care
Review status: REVIEWED against No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care,
               Memory or Attention Problem - disease-level clinical article
               (memory-or-attention-problem-clinical.txt)  (2026-08)

IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination
  SYMPTOMS - what the patient reports (2)
    - Repeatedly asking the same questions or forgetting recent events, immediate location, or
      something just read signals short-term memory loss  [memory loss]
    - Korsakoff syndrome from alcohol use brings invented memories used to fill gaps, along with
      psychiatric symptoms
  TESTS (5)
    - Simple word or digit recall tasks assess the verbal component of short-term memory
    - The MMSE and MoCA are standard cognitive screens used alongside memory-specific tools
    - MRI or CT can help identify a structural cause and reveal atrophy patterns suggestive of a
      particular dementia
    - Vitamin B12 level is one of the laboratory tests that may be needed in the workup
    - The CVLT-3 can help distinguish Alzheimer disease memory loss from Huntington disease
  IF NOT THIS - what else fits (8)
    - Alzheimer disease characteristically starts with short-term memory loss while long-term memory
      is relatively spared
    - Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is confirmed by characteristic brain MRI findings and CSF prion
      testing
    - Frontotemporal dementia is marked by prominent behavioral and language change with a strong
      genetic component
    - Progressive supranuclear palsy features early falls and postural instability with slowed,
      limited eye movements
    - Semantic dementia mainly impairs semantic memory through degeneration of the anterior temporal
      lobes
    - Traumatic brain injury causes diffuse axonal injury with slowed processing along with
      impulsivity and apathy
    - Vitamin B12 or B1 deficiency can impair short-term memory
    - Hypothyroidism can present with memory impairment and brain fog
  Score   Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS) - Is there cognitive impairment worth investigating?
  Source  StatPearls "Short-Term Memory Impairment" - disease-level clinical article
  Status  traced to the source above

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)    [1st line]
   Adult    Covers amnesia, disorientation, or difficulty concentrating; causes range from normal
            ageing and stress to dementia, depression, or an acute confusional state. The GP
            assesses onset and course, treats a reversible cause if found, and refers for cognitive
            assessment if progressive decline is suspected. - Refer, with advice
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is
            implied.
   Source   No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
   Why      Covers amnesia, disorientation, or difficulty concentrating; causes range from normal
            ageing and stress to dementia, depression, or an acute confusional state. The GP
            assesses onset and course, treats a reversible cause if found, and refers for cognitive
            assessment if progressive decline is suspected.
   Caution  No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and
            referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
            RED FLAG - Patients with severe memory loss are at risk of self-harm/safety hazards
            (e.g. leaving stoves on, getting lost in familiar places) and medication mis-
            administration (double-dosing or missing doses).
            RED FLAG - Sudden confusion or disorientation (possible delirium - look for infection, a
            metabolic cause, or drug toxicity), progressive memory loss affecting daily function
            (possible dementia), or a preceding head injury.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
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