Alcohol history Flashcards
1
Q
What are the parts of the alcohol history?
A
- Alcohol intake (plus CAGE)
- Past alcohol history
- Physical complications of alcohol abuse
- Psychiatry screening
- Social complications of alcohol use
- Previous treatments
- Maintaining factors
- Motivation to change
2
Q
What is CAGE?
A
Widely used screening tool for alcohol abuse
- Ever tried Cutting down
- Annoyed when people ask about alcohol
- Guilt
- Eye-opener drink
3
Q
When would you intervene based on CAGE?
A
More than 2 drinks
4
Q
What physical complications of alcohol abuse would you screen for?
A
- Anaemia
- Liver damage: cirrhosis
- Pancreatitis
- Reflux, peptic ulcer diseasae
- Epilepsy, ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, amnesia
- CVD: ischaemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, hypertension
5
Q
What psychiatric complications of alcohol abuse would you screen for?
A
Depression
Hallucinations
Wernicke’s and Korsakoff’s
6
Q
What would you ask about social complications of drinking?
A
- Loss of job, divorce, driving
- Trouble with police
- Trouble with people close to you
- Gambling
7
Q
What would you ask about maintaining factors of drinking?
A
Access to alcohol
Motivation to drink
8
Q
What are the stages of change?
A
- Pre-contemplation
- Contemplation
- Preparation
- Action
- Maintenance
9
Q
What are the features of alcohol dependence syndrome?
A
- Strong desire to take a substance
- Difficulty controlling intake
- Psychological withdrawal
- Tolerance
- Lack of other activities and interests
- Ongoing substance misuse despite clear evidence of harmful consequences
10
Q
What medications can help with symptoms of withdrawal?
A
- Benzodiazepines: chlordiazepoxide
11
Q
What investigations would you do for alcoholism?
A
- FBC, U&E, LFTs, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin
- Abdominal examination
- Liver ultrasound
