How CAGE, RAPS4-QF, and AUDIT Can Help Practitioners for Patients Admitted with Acute Alcohol Intoxication in Emergency Departments?

Aims: To help clinicians to identify the severity of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) from optimal thresholds found for recommended scales. Especially, taking account of the high prevalence of alcohol dependence among patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) for acute alcohol intoxication (AAI), we propose to define thresholds of severity of dependence based on the AUDIT score.

Methods: All patients admitted to the ED with AAI (blood alcohol level >0.

Quality of life in adults with Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome.

Background: Few studies have used standardized QOL instruments to assess the quality of life (QOL) in Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) patients. This work investigates the QOL of adult GTS patients and examines the relationships between physical and psychological variables and QOL.

Methods: Epidemiological investigation by anonymous national postal survey of QOL of patients of the French Association of Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (AFGTS) aged 16 years or older.

Usefulness of brief intervention for patients admitted to emergency services for acute alcohol intoxication.

Background: In hospital emergency services, the prevalence of alcohol-related admissions is about 20%, of which 80% display elevated γ-glutamyl transpeptidase or carbohydrate deficient transferring (CDT). We investigated whether intensive case management (ICM) that included cognitive behavior-oriented brief intervention could decrease patient morbidity.

Methods: This study was a 13-month, prospective, exhaustive, longitudinal, controlled trial in an emergency department.

Validity study of Kessler's psychological distress scales conducted among patients admitted to French emergency department for alcohol consumption-related disorders.

Background: Alcohol-related disorders (ARD) encountered in emergency departments (ED) have a high prevalence and are underestimated. It is necessary to provide professionals with a tool to identify patients in whom there is a risk that alcohol-related and mental health problems may be associated. Kessler's K6/10 psychological distress scales are fast, easy-to-use, and have been shown to achieve a good performance in the identification of psychological distress associated with ARD.

Outcomes from primary care management of alcohol dependence in France.

A prospective study assessed the outcome in a sample of 122 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition alcohol-dependent patients in primary care. Standardized questionnaires collected clinical, social, and management data during 875 visits over an 18-month follow-up. A time-event analysis identified outcome predictors.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy: a urge to increase prevention and screening.

Alcohol consumption was evaluated in 1,027 pregnant women in the Auvergne region of central France. Only 53% declared total abstinence during pregnancy. 33% had 1-4 units on monthly occasion, while 13% drunk more frequently.

Impact of practitioner's training in the management of alcohol dependence: a quasi-experimental 18-month follow-up study.

Background: In many European countries, medical education on alcohol remains inadequate in terms of both quantity and quality. The expansion of GP training and care protocols would improve the management and outcome of alcoholic patients. Our purpose was to assess the impact of a multifaceted intervention by trained GPs in the management of alcohol-dependent patients.

AlQoL 9 for measuring quality of life in alcohol dependence.

Aims: Quality of life (QoL) is an important factor of outcome tracking and treatment in alcohol misuse. A 9-item QoL scale, AlQoL 9, obtained from the generic SF 36, is proposed as a measure that characterizes the QoL of alcohol-dependent patients. Our objective was to study the psychometric properties of this subscale.

Validity of the CAGE questionnaire in hospital.

Objective: The CAGE questionnaire is considered a useful screening and case-finding tool for alcohol use disorders in clinical populations. Our objectives were to validate the French version of the CAGE against DSM-IV criteria and to assess performance of each item of the scale.

Method: Data were extracted from a hospital morbidity study conducted in central France.

[Systematic use in hospitals of a alcohol problems detecting questionnaire. The CAGE (cut down, annoyed, guilty, eye opener) questionnaire].

Objectives: The CAGE questionnaire is considered a useful tool for detecting alcohol problems, especially in clinical populations. Its sensitivity exceeds 75% and its specificity 90%. Our objective was to assess performance of the French version of the CAGE (DETA) in identifying patients who meet the DSM-IV criteria and to discuss its usefulness in hospitals.

Performance of asialotransferrin in detecting alcohol abuse.

Background: The spectrum of alcohol use disorders covers hazardous use, alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence. The present study evaluated the performance of asialotransferrin, a newly proposed biomarker for alcohol use disorders, in detecting alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.

Method: A 4-month trial was conducted in three groups of participants: alcohol abusers and alcohol-dependent patients, as defined in DSM-IV, and a control group.

The use of biological laboratory markers in the diagnosis of alcohol misuse: an evidence-based approach.

Background: A large number of patients seen in clinical practice have an underlying alcohol problem. There is a pressing need for accurate methods to diagnose alcohol over-consumption objectively. Our aim was to determine how best to use biological markers to objectify alcohol problems in patients with clinical suspicion of alcohol misuse.

General practitioners and alcohol use disorders: quantity without quality.

Background: General medical practitioners are essential for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of alcohol use disorders. Studies to examine medical practice in this field, however, are very rare.

Method: A cross-sectional study involving 2010 patients seen by a sample of 145 general practitioners in the Auvergne region of central France was conducted on a given day in May 1998.