The CAGE Questionnaire is an incredibly rapid, 4-question screening tool used in primary care and emergency departments to detect severe alcohol dependency.
The Power of Brevity
Physicians often have less than 15 minutes to evaluate a patient. While the 10-question AUDIT is comprehensive, the CAGE questionnaire takes literally 30 seconds to administer and targets the psychological and physiological core of addiction.
The Four Questions
- Cut Down: Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking? (Indicates the patient recognizes a loss of control).
- Annoyed: Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking? (Indicates social friction and denial).
- Guilty: Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking? (Indicates the drinking is violating the patient's own moral boundaries).
- Eye-Opener: Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover? (Indicates severe physical dependency and morning withdrawal).
Sum of positive responses (Yes=1, No=0) to four specific questions.
The CAGE questionnaire is not diagnostic, but a score of 2 or more mandates a deep, serious clinical evaluation for severe Alcohol Use Disorder.