B. Liskow et al., VALIDITY OF THE CAGE QUESTIONNAIRE IN SCREENING FOR ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE IN A WALK-IN (TRIAGE) CLINIC, Journal of studies on alcohol, 56(3), 1995, pp. 277-281
Objective: This study assessed the value of the CAGE questionnaire in
detecting alcohol dependence in the walk-in (triage) clinic of an acut
e care Veterans Affairs hospital. Method: Male veterans (N = 1,667) at
tending the walk-in clinic were asked several questions relating to wh
ether they were current drinkers, were seeking alcohol treatment, and
whether they had been hospitalized for treatment of alcoholism. Those
who were current drinkers, were not seeking alcohol treatment and had
not been hospitalized for alcohol treatment were given the CAGE questi
onnaire followed by a diagnostic interview utilizing DSM III-R criteri
a to determine the presence or absence of a lifetime diagnosis of alco
hol dependence. Results: The diagnostic interview revealed a prevalenc
e rate for alcoholism of 22% in this clinic population. The CAGE scale
, when used with one or more yes responses indicating a positive respo
nse, achieved a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 93% when using t
he diagnostic interview as the criterion standard. Conclusions: This s
tudy adds to the evidence that the CAGE questionnaire is an effective,
efficient, easily used screening instrument for the detection of alco
hol dependence in a clinical setting.