The Association of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scales that Incorporate Vital Signs and Withdrawal Outcomes: A Multicenter Cohort Study

The authors aimed to compare the outcomes of alcohol withdrawal treatment using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment, Revised (CIWA-Ar) versus alternative scales that incorporate vital signs. Their multicenter cohort study found that while treatment duration was longer for those assessed with scales including vital signs, there was no significant difference in the rates of complicated withdrawal. The authors suggest that further randomized clinical trials are necessary to determine the most effective assessment scale for managing alcohol withdrawal.