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CAGE Substance Abuse Screening Tool. Directions: Ask your patients these four questions and use the scoring method described below to determine if substance abuse exists and needs to be addressed. CAGE Questions. 1. Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking? 2. Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking? 3.
University of North Carolina at Cahpel Hill, CAGE is an internationally used assessment instrument for identifying alcoholics. It is particularly popular with primary care givers. CAGE has been translated into several languages. The CAGE questions can be used in the clinical setting using informal phrasing. It has been
The CAGE questionnaire is used to test for alcohol abuse and dependence in adults. The CAGE-AID version of the tool has been adapted to include drug use. These tools are not used to diagnose diseases, but only to indicate whether a problem might exist.
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- Overview
- What are the questions?
- How is it scored?
- Are there any variations?
- How accurate is it?
- The bottom line
What is the CAGE questionnaire?
The CAGE questionnaire is a series of four questions that doctors can use to check for signs of possible alcohol dependency. The questions are designed to be less obtrusive than directly asking someone if they have a problem with alcohol.
CAGE is an acronym that makes the four questions easy to remember. Each letter represents a specific question:
1.Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
2.Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
3.Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
Each question requires a simple yes or no answer. Each yes answer increases the chances that someone may have an alcohol dependency. Generally, two or three yes answers suggest heavy alcohol use or alcohol use disorder.
Doctors sometimes attach more significance to certain questions. For example, many consider the final question about drinking in the morning to be the most important question, since it’s a sign that someone may be having symptoms of withdrawal.
There are a few similar tests that doctors use to check for alcohol or substance use disorder.
The most similar one is called the CAGE-AID questionnaire. The addition of AID stands for “Adapted to Include Drugs.” It’s the same four questions as the CAGE questionnaire, but adds drug use alongside drinking.
Similar tests used to check for signs of alcohol use disorder include:
•Michigan alcohol screening test (MAST). This is one of the oldest screening tests for alcohol use disorder. It includes 24 questions that ask about both behavior and negative consequences. It tries to evaluate someone’s long-term history, rather than their current state.
•Alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT). This 10-question test checks for both potentially dangerous drinking habits and alcohol dependence.
•Fast alcohol screening test (FAST). This is a four-question test adapted from the AUDIT questionnaire that checks for drinking patterns that might increase someone’s risk of psychological or physical complications.
There’s a strong stigma surrounding alcohol misuse and dependency. This can make it hard for doctors to effectively ask questions about a person’s drinking habits.
The CAGE questionnaire, along with related tests, try to remove any potential for personal judgement by asking very simple, direct questions that don’t accuse someone of any wrongdoing. For example, the second question asks how other people perceive their drinking, rather than asking how someone’s drinking directly affects those around them.
The CAGE questionnaire is a list of four simple questions that’s used to check for signs of alcohol dependence. While it’s not a foolproof test, it can be a useful tool that only requires a minute or two of time and avoids some of the social stigmas surrounding alcohol use.
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Feb 7, 2024 · The CAGE questionnaire is a 4-question screening tool that clinicians may use to help in the diagnosis of alcoholism. CAGE is an acronym for the focus of the questions. C – Cutting Down. A – Annoyance by Criticism. G – Guilty Feeling. E – Eye-openers. How Should I Use the CAGE Assessment?
CAGE Questionnaire for Alcohol Problem Screening. Drinking alcohol can affect your health. This is especially important if you take certain medications. We want to help you stay healthy and lower your risk for the problems that can be caused by drinking.
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Questionnaire. A simple, universally used assessment to help evaluate your situation. Developed by Dr. John Ewing, founding Director of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CAGE is an internationally used assessment instrument for identifying alcoholics. Item responses on the CAGE are scored Yes or No.
