Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Cheryl J. Cherpitel, DrPH, Alcohol Research Group, 2000 Hearst Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709, 510 642-0164, ccherpitel@arg.org, Mariana Cremonte, PhD, National University of Mar del Plata, Soaverda 3855, Mar del Plata, Argentina, and Guilherme Borges, ScD, National Institute of Psychiatry, Calzada Mexico Xochimilco No. 101, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco C.P. 10610, Mexico City, Mexico.

The association of alcohol consumption with both injury and non-injury problems presenting to the emergency department (ED) has been well-documented, and the ED has been identified as an important site for screening an brief intervention for those with alcohol-related problems. Less is known about the performance of screening instruments for identifying alcohol use disorders in this setting, however, or the comparative performance of instruments across cultures. The performance of a number of standard screening instruments (CAGE, brief MAST, AUDIT, TWEAK, RAPS4) for alcohol dependence (based on ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria) was compared across emergency department samples in Argentina (n=643), Mexico (n=541) and the U.S. (California) (n=856). The AUDIT and RAPS4 were both found to have highest sensitivity (.88 or above) at a reasonable level of specificity (above .80) across all three countries. Performance of the CAGE was also good in the U.S., while performance of the TWEAK was good in Mexico and the U.S. Performance of the brief MAST was uniformly poor across all countries. None of the screening instruments performed as well for females as for the total sample. Performance of the RAPS4 was better than other instruments for females across all three countries, followed by the TWEAK. These data suggest that screening instruments may perform better in U.S. populations than in other countries, and that the RAPS4 may provide the best choice for consistently good performance for both males and females across countries and cultures.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of this session the participant will be able to discuss the comparative performance of several screening instruments for alcohol dependence in ER populations in Argentina, Mexico and the U.S.

Keywords: Screening Instruments, Emergency Department/Room

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation