Which screening tool is a four-question instrument used for alcohol and drug problems?

Which screening tool is a four-question instrument used for alcohol and drug problems?

• A. AUDIT
• B. CAGE
• C. MAST
• D. SAPC

Answer: (B)

Short, quick screens are valuable because they flag potential problems without taking long to administer. The four-question instrument in this context is the CAGE questionnaire, a concise screening tool for alcohol problems that is widely used in primary care and other settings. It consists of four simple yes/no items that ask about cutting down, annoyance at criticism, guilt, and an eye-opener drink. Because it targets notable patterns of problematic use with just a few items, it’s efficient and has good specificity, so a positive result suggests a need for further assessment rather than a definitive diagnosis. While there is a variant called CAGE-AID that expands to include drug use, the standard four-question form here is the CAGE screen, which is why it’s the best answer. The other tools listed require many more items (AUDIT with ten, MAST with many more) or are not four-question instruments, so they don’t fit the prompt.

Short, quick screens are valuable because they flag potential problems without taking long to administer. The four-question instrument in this context is the CAGE questionnaire, a concise screening tool for alcohol problems that is widely used in primary care and other settings. It consists of four simple yes/no items that ask about cutting down, annoyance at criticism, guilt, and an eye-opener drink. Because it targets notable patterns of problematic use with just a few items, it’s efficient and has good specificity, so a positive result suggests a need for further assessment rather than a definitive diagnosis. While there is a variant called CAGE-AID that expands to include drug use, the standard four-question form here is the CAGE screen, which is why it’s the best answer. The other tools listed require many more items (AUDIT with ten, MAST with many more) or are not four-question instruments, so they don’t fit the prompt.