A NEW RATING-SCALE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ALCOHOL-WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME (AWS SCALE)

A new rating scare for the quantitative assessment of the alcohol-with drawal syndrome (AWS) was developed from the CIWA-A scale by item anal ysis based on the data from 132 alcoholic patients. The clinical evalu ation of this AWS scale in a second sample of 256 alcoholic patients s howed that it adequately assessed the course and severity of the AWS. The AWS scale provides data for a rational strategy of therapy for the AWS by rating mental and somatic symptoms on different scales. In par ticular, the mental subscale allows prediction of a complicated AWS. S ubjects with an AWS score greater than or equal to 10 at admission hav e a higher risk of becoming delirious than those with a lower score (4 6.6% vs 2.8%; P < 0.001). In order to minimize the prescription of dru gs with abuse potential, such as diazepam and clomethiazole, a structu red treatment programme of in-patient alcohol detoxification based on the AWS score was also developed. The comparison revealed that, in the second sample, which was treated following this protocol, the number of cases given medication was lower and the amount of clomethiazole pr escribed per patient was less.