Screening for alcohol misuse in older people.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether the CAGE, MAST-G or an abnormally high MCV are effective screening instruments for alcohol misuse and if not to devise a new instrument.


METHODS
Questionnaire survey of randomly selected patients.


METHODS
Acute admission wards of two district general hospitals.


METHODS
9 months.


METHODS
Randomly selected patients, aged 65 and over, admitted as emergencies.


METHODS
Excessive alcohol intake, alcohol dependence.


RESULTS
The sensitivities of the CAGE, MAST-G and an abnormally high MCV for excess alcohol intake and alcohol abuse are low, ranging from 0.13 to 0.54.


CONCLUSIONS
The results confirm previous UK studies which indicate that the CAGE and an abnormally high MCV are poor screening instruments for alcohol misuse in older patients and also indicate that the MAST-G is an insensitive screening instrument. A new two-step instrument with five questions in total was generated. This requires further validation.
Luttrell
S
S
Department of Health Care of Older People, Whittington Hospital, London, UK.
Watkin
V
V
Livingston
G
G
Walker
Z
Z
D'Ath
P
P
Patel
P
P
Shergill
S
S
Dain
A
A
Bielawska
C
C
Katona
C
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000592:standards*; D004739:England; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*