Working Toward a Gold Standard: The Severity of Ethanol Withdrawal Scale (SEWS) Versus the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Alcohol Scale (CIWA-Ar).

Abstract

Proving the Severity of Ethanol Withdrawal Scale (SEWS) significantly reduces Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome (AWS) treatment Time on Medication Protocol (TOMP). Head-to-head Quality Assurance outcome compared separate cohorts of SEWS or Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar) data using Student's t and Wilcoxon tests. SEWS-driven treatment (n = 244) reduced TOMP to 2.2days versus 3.4days for CIWA-Ar (n = 137); P < 0.0001. The SEWS is the superior measure of AWS symptoms.