Serial sevens
Encyclopedia
Serial sevens, counting down from one hundred by sevens, is a clinical test used to test mental function; for example, to help assess mental status after possible head injury
or in suspected cases of dementia
. It forms part of the Mini mental state examination. The test is also used in determining when a patient is becoming unconscious under anaesthetic, for example prior to major dental surgery.
On its own, the inability to perform 'serial sevens' is not diagnostic of any particular disorder or impairment, but is generally used as a quick and easy test of concentration
and memory
in any number of situations where clinicians suspect that these cognitive functions might be affected.
Similar tests include serial threes where the counting downwards is done by threes, reciting the months of the year in reverse order, or spelling 'world' backwards.
A study involving uninjured high school athletes concluded that the serial sevens test is not appropriate when testing for concussion because it lacks specificity
; the pass rate is too low to give any meaningful result. The ability to recite the months in reverse order was thought to be a more effective measure because the pass rate was higher for that test in uninjured athletes.
The numbers of the serial sevens test are a recurring motif in Sarah Kane's play 4.48 Psychosis
.
Head injury
Head injury refers to trauma of the head. This may or may not include injury to the brain. However, the terms traumatic brain injury and head injury are often used interchangeably in medical literature....
or in suspected cases of dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
. It forms part of the Mini mental state examination. The test is also used in determining when a patient is becoming unconscious under anaesthetic, for example prior to major dental surgery.
On its own, the inability to perform 'serial sevens' is not diagnostic of any particular disorder or impairment, but is generally used as a quick and easy test of concentration
Concentration
In chemistry, concentration is defined as the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Four types can be distinguished: mass concentration, molar concentration, number concentration, and volume concentration...
and memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
in any number of situations where clinicians suspect that these cognitive functions might be affected.
Similar tests include serial threes where the counting downwards is done by threes, reciting the months of the year in reverse order, or spelling 'world' backwards.
A study involving uninjured high school athletes concluded that the serial sevens test is not appropriate when testing for concussion because it lacks specificity
Sensitivity and specificity
Sensitivity and specificity are statistical measures of the performance of a binary classification test, also known in statistics as classification function. Sensitivity measures the proportion of actual positives which are correctly identified as such Sensitivity and specificity are statistical...
; the pass rate is too low to give any meaningful result. The ability to recite the months in reverse order was thought to be a more effective measure because the pass rate was higher for that test in uninjured athletes.
The numbers of the serial sevens test are a recurring motif in Sarah Kane's play 4.48 Psychosis
4.48 Psychosis
4.48 Psychosis is a play by British playwright Sarah Kane. It was her last work, first staged at the Royal Court's Jerwood Theatre Upstairs on June 23, 2000, nearly one and a half years after Kane's February 20, 1999 death...
.