CIWA-Ar
Optimize benzodiazepine treatment of patients alcohol withdrawal
The CIWA-Ar Score is a scale used in the management of alcohol withdrawal.
This is a validated scoring system that has high inter-rater reliability.
Saitz et al showed that using the CIWA-Ar scoring system along with symptom-triggered treatment protocol, it is possible to shorten benzodiazepine treatment duration to 9 hrs from 68 hrs in a fixed-schedule benzodiazepine group (P < .001).
The symptom-triggered group received markedly less benzodiazepine than the fixed-schedule group, with no significant differences in the severity of withdrawal during treatment or in the incidence of seizures or delirium tremens.
- [1]Sullivan JT et al.: Assessment of alcohol withdrawal: the revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale (CIWA-Ar).British Journal of Addiction 1989, 84 (11): 1353-7
- [2]Saitz R, Mayo-Smith MF, Redmond HA, Bernard DR, Calkins DR. : Individualized treatment for alcohol withdrawal. A randomized double-blind controlled trial.JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association 1994 August 17, 272 (7): 519-23
Results
Real-time automated computation
The CIWA-Ar Score is a scale used in the management of alcohol withdrawal.
This is a validated scoring system that has high inter-rater reliability.
Saitz et al showed that using the CIWA-Ar scoring system along with symptom-triggered treatment protocol, it is possible to shorten benzodiazepine treatment duration to 9 hrs from 68 hrs in a fixed-schedule benzodiazepine group (P < .001).
The symptom-triggered group received markedly less benzodiazepine than the fixed-schedule group, with no significant differences in the severity of withdrawal during treatment or in the incidence of seizures or delirium tremens.
- [1]Sullivan JT et al.: Assessment of alcohol withdrawal: the revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale (CIWA-Ar).British Journal of Addiction 1989, 84 (11): 1353-7
- [2]Saitz R, Mayo-Smith MF, Redmond HA, Bernard DR, Calkins DR. : Individualized treatment for alcohol withdrawal. A randomized double-blind controlled trial.JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association 1994 August 17, 272 (7): 519-23