Directions: Ask your patients these four questions and use the scoring method described below to determine if substance abuse exists and needs to be addressed.
Scoring: Item responses on the CAGE questions are scored 0 for "no" and I for "yes" answers, with a higher score being an indication of alcohol problems. A total score of two or greater is considered clinically significant.
The normal cutoff for the CAGE is two positive answers, however, the Consensus Pane! recommends that the primary care clinicians lower the threshold to one positive answer to cast a wider ner and identify more patients who may have substance abuse disorders. A number of other screening tools are available.
CAGE is derived from the four questions of the coal: Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, and Eye-opener
CAGE Source: Ewing 1984