The CAGE questionnaire

The CAGE questionnaire is, along with TWEAK, AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and FAST (Fast Alcohol Screening Test), one of the most popular alcohol screening questionnaires. It was developed by Dr John Ewing in the USA and published in 1984 [1] as an easy-to-use tool to identify severe alcohol dependence. It consists of four questions: The questionnaire can be self-administered or administered by a health-care professional. It is important that it is stressed that the questions relate to the whole of the patient’s life, not just the current circumstances. Each question is scored 1 for ‘yes’ and 0 for ‘no’. The higher the score the greater the indication of alcohol problems. A total score of 2 or greater is considered clinically significant and has the specificity and sensitivities outlined below. The most important question is the final question regarding alcohol as an eye-opener as it denotes that the patient is undergoing withdrawal in the mornings.