CSAT’s
Knowledge Application Program

KAP Keys for Clinicians

Based on TIP 16
Alcohol and Other Drug Screening of Hospitalized Trauma Patients

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
www.samhsa.gov

Introduction
Key 1: Keys to Screening Trauma Patients for Alcohol and Drug Use
Key 2: Indications for Further Alcohol and Drug Assessments
Key 3: Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test
Key 4: Skinner Trauma History
Order Information

Introduction

These KAP Keys were developed to accompany the Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series published by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. These KAP Keys are based entirely on TIP 16 and are designed to meet the needs of the busy clinician for concise, easily accessed “how-to” information.

For more information on the topics in these KAP Keys, see TIP 16.

Other Treatment Improvement Protocols that are relevant to these KAP Keys:

TIP 24, Guide to Substance Abuse Services for Primary Care Clinicians (1997, Reprinted 2000) BKD234
TIP 31, Screening and Assessing Adolescents for Substance Use Disorders (1999) BKD306
TIP 34, Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse (1999) BKD341

Key 1: Keys to Screening Trauma Patients for Alcohol and Drug Use

• Screen all hospitalized trauma patients ages 14 and older.
• Screen patients at the time of admission to the emergency room or trauma center.
• Obtain blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and urine-drug screens.
• Consider all patients with BACs above 20 mg/dl (0.02 percent) for further assessment of alcohol and drug use.
• The amount of alcohol that defines drunk driving differs from State to State; in most States the amount is 100 mg/dl (0.10 percent) or 80 mg/dl (0.08 percent).
• The amount known to produce impairment is about 50 mg/dl (0.05 percent).
• Many patients with BACs above 200 mg/dl will be found to have a diagnosable alcohol problem on further screening and assessment.

Ask these two questions (they have been shown to detect alcoholism in more than 90 percent of a sample):

1. Have you ever had a drinking problem?
2. When was your last drink?

Key 2: Indications for Further Alcohol and Drug Assessments

Any of the following indicate the need for further alcohol and drug assessment:

• Blood alcohol concentrations greater than 20 mg/dl (0.02 percent)
• Any urine-drug screen positive for a psychoactive substance
• Any abnormally elevated GGT (gamma-glutamyltransferase)
• More than two positive answers on a screening questionnaire such as the Short Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (SMAST).

Key 3: Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

Score 1 point for each YES answer, except for questions 6, 10, and 11, which get 3 points for each YES answer. A score of 0 to 3 indicates “nonalcoholic”; a score of 2 points equals “possibly alcoholic”; and a score of 3 or more indicates “alcoholic.”

1. Do you feel you are a normal drinker? (By normal we mean you drink less than or as much as most people.)

2. Does your wife, your husband, a parent, or another near relative ever worry about your drinking?

3. Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking?

4. Do friends or relatives think you are a normal drinker?

5. Are you able to stop drinking when you want to?

6. Have you ever attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous?

7. Has drinking ever created problems between you and your wife, your husband, a parent, or another near relative?

8. Have you ever gotten into trouble at work because of your drinking?

9. Have you ever neglected your obligations, your family, or your work for 2 or more days in a row because you were drinking

10. Have you ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking?

11. Have you ever been in a hospital because of your drinking?

12. Have you ever been arrested for driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages?

13. Have you ever been arrested, even for a few hours, because of drunken behavior?

Source: Seltzer, M.L., Vinokur, A., and Van Rooijen, L. A self-administered Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST). Journal of Studies on Alcohol 36:117–126, 1975.

Key 4: Skinner Trauma History

To assess trauma history, ask these questions:

Since your 18th birthday, have you

1. Had any fractures or dislocations to your bones or joints?

2. Been injured in a road traffic accident?

3. Injured your head?

4. Been injured in an assault or fight (excluding injuries during sports)?

5. Been injured after drinking?

Yes answers to 2 or more questions indicate a high probability of alcohol abuse.

Source: Skinner, H.A.; Holt, S.; Schuller, R.; Roy, J.; and Israel Y. Identification of alcohol abuse using laboratory tests and a history of trauma. Annals of Internal Medicine 101(6):847-851, 1984.

Ordering Information

TIP 16
Alcohol and Other Drug Screening of Hospitalized Trauma Patients

Easy Ways to Obtain Free Copies of All TIP Products

• Call SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 800–729–6686, TDD (hearing impaired) 800–487–4889

• Visit CSAT’s Web site at www.csat.samhsa.gov

Do not reproduce or distribute this publication for a fee without specific, written authorization from the Office of Communications, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 01-3567
Printed 2001