Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol, commonly abbreviated as CIWA or CIWA-Ar (revised version), is a 10-item scale used in the assessment and management of

benzodiazepines
. The maximum score is 67; Mild alcohol withdrawal is defined with a score less than or equal to 10, moderate with scores 11 to 15, and severe with any score equal to or greater than 16.

CIWA-Ar

The CIWA-Ar is actually a shortened, improved version of the CIWA, geared towards objectifying alcohol withdrawal symptom severity. It retains validity, usefulness and reliability between raters.[3] This revised version is the most commonly used scale in alcohol withdrawal, and was developed at the Addiction Research Foundation (now Centre for Addiction and Mental Health).[4]

Scale

The ten items evaluated on the scale are common symptoms and signs of alcohol withdrawal, and are as follows:

  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Tremor
  • Paroxysmal
    sweats
  • Anxiety
  • Agitation
  • Tactile
    disturbances
  • Auditory
    disturbances
  • Visual disturbances
  • Headache
  • Orientation and clouded sensorium

Scoring

All items are scored from 0–7, with the exception of the orientation category, scored from 0–4. The CIWA scale is validated and has high inter-rater reliability. A randomized,

benzodiazepines. The goal of the CIWA scale is to provide an efficient and objective means of assessing alcohol withdrawal. Studies have shown that use of the scale in management of alcohol withdrawal leads to decreased frequency of over-sedation with benzodiazepines in patients with milder alcohol withdrawal than would otherwise be detected without use of the scale, and decreased frequency of under-treatment in patients with greater severity of withdrawal than would otherwise be determined without the scale.[3]

See also

References

  1. PMID 2597811
    .
  2. PMID 8046805
    .
  3. ^
    PMID 9214531
    .
  4. PMID 2597811
    .
  5. ^ Saitz M, Mayo-Smith MF, Redmond HA, Bernard DR, Calkins DR. Individualized treatment for alcohol withdrawal. A randomized double-blind controlled trial. JAMA 1994;272:519-23.
  6. S2CID 34289594
    .
  7. PMID 24197633
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clinical_Institute_Withdrawal_Assessment_for_Alcohol&oldid=1175178509"