[Measurement of attention deficit in the course of intoxications (author's transl)].

Abstract

The level and course of attention was measured hourly in 9 drug intoxicated patients after a suicide attempt over periods which varied between 12 and 72 hrs. Attention was measured by the use of two additive 5 step scales for susceptibility to stimulation and reactivity, which were developed by the authors in earlier investigations and proven to be very reliable. Although, the original data set of attention measures was different among the patients, some common features could be elaborated: 1. The level of attention varies very little within 1 hr. Differences greater than one step on the scales were rarely observed between two measurements. 2. The mean course of recovery from attention deficit is linear throughout the scales while the variance is substantial at each step of the scales. For quantification of attention deficit a measure was defined which gives the relation between the actual deficit and full attention. Since the correlation between both scales is high over the whole observation period, it was concluded that the intoxication alters the level but not the structure of attention.