The AUDIT Clinical Procedure to Evaluate Patients for Harmful Effects of Alcohol Use

 

NOTE: The AUDIT core questionnaire to screen for harmful alcohol use is described in the chapter on psychiatry.

 

The instrument consists of 8 questions (2 for history of significant injury, 5 for physical findings, and 1 for laboratory testing).

 

Responses are scored from 0 to 3 points.

 

Questions:

(1) history of head injury after drinking

(2) history of broken any bones after drinking

(3) conjunctival injection

(4) abnormal skin vascularity

(5) hand tremor

(6) tongue tremor

(7) hepatomegaly

(8) serum GGT

 

AUDIT clinical score =

= SUM(points for all 8 parameters)

 

Interpretation:

• minimum score: 0

• maximum score: 24

• A score >= 5 was 82% sensitive and 40% specific for differentiating alcoholic from nonalcoholic patients (page 429, Bohn 1995).