HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care : Clinical protocols for the European ...

Annex 3. Alcohol screening questionnaires
ManageMent of Hepatitis C and HiV CoinfeCtion
The following is an overview of the most used and well-established alcohol screening questionnaires.
CAGE Test
CAGE (100) is an acronym of the four questions:
1. Have you ever felt you ought to Cut down on your drinking? (yes/no)
2. Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking? (yes/no)
3. Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking? (yes/no)
4. Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover (Eyeopener)?
(yes/no)
Item responses are scored 0 or 1, with a higher score an indication of alcohol problems. A total score of 2 or
greater is considered clinically significant.
AUDIT Test
The AUDIT Test (101) was developed as a simple method of screening for excessive drinking, alcohol dependence
and harmful drinking (see Table 14 below). It has the following advantages:
• cross-national standardization, the only screening test designed for international use;
• identifies hazardous and harmful alcohol use, as well as possible dependence;
• it is brief, rapid and flexible;
• designed for primary health-care workers; and
• focuses on recent alcohol use.
A score of 8 in men and 7 in women indicates a strong likelihood of hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption.
A score of 13 or more is suggestive of alcohol-related harm.
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