Correlation Between mMINDS and CIWA-Ar Scoring Tools in Patients With Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

• Published in: American journal of critical care Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 280 - 286
• Main Authors: Littlefield, Audrey J, Heavner, Mojdeh S, Eng, Claire C, Cooper, Dawn A, Heavner, Jason J, Kurtz, Jeanette M, Pisani, Margaret A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-07-2018
• Subjects: Nursing
• ISSN: 1062-3264; 1937-710X
• DOI: 10.4037/ajcc2018547

Many alcohol withdrawal scoring tools are used in hospitalized patients to assess the severity of alcohol withdrawal and guide treatment. The revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment (CIWA-Ar) and the modified Minnesota Detoxification Scale (mMINDS) are commonly used but have never been correlated.
To determine the strength of correlation between the CIWA-Ar and mMINDS scoring tools in patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
A single-center, prospective correlation study conducted at a large academic medical center. Patients treated for alcohol withdrawal syndrome according to the Yale Alcohol Withdrawal Protocol were identified daily, and both the CIWA-Ar and mMINDS were administered at each time point required by the protocol. Clinical data were obtained from the electronic medical records.
A total of 185 CIWA-Ar and mMINDS scores were collected in 30 patients. The Pearson correlation coefficient across all scores was 0.82, indicating a strong correlation. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.87 for CIWA-Ar scores of 10 or less and 0.52 for CIWA-Ar scores above 10. Strong correlations were also shown for tremor (0.98), agitation (0.84), and orientation (0.87).
The correlation between the CIWA-Ar and mMINDS tools is strong and appears to be most robust in patients with CIWA-Ar scores of 10 or less.