CIWA-Ar
Pronunciation: SEE-wah A-R
Also written as: CIWA-Ar — Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-revised
A standardized assessment tool used to monitor and quantify the severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in clinical settings.
Full Definition
The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-revised (CIWA-Ar) is a validated, 10-item scale used to assess the severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and guide treatment decisions. The assessment evaluates nausea/vomiting, tremor, paroxysmal sweats, anxiety, agitation, tactile disturbances, auditory disturbances, visual disturbances, headache/fullness in head, and orientation. Each item is scored from 0-7 (with orientation scored 0-4), yielding a maximum total score of 67. Scores of 8 or less indicate mild withdrawal, 9-15 indicate moderate withdrawal, and 16 or greater suggest severe withdrawal requiring pharmacological intervention. The CIWA-Ar is typically administered every 4-8 hours during alcohol detoxification to monitor patient status and adjust treatment protocols.
Usage
Usage note: Always include the hyphen and 'Ar' suffix to distinguish from the original CIWA scale.
In Context
- "The patient's CIWA-Ar score of 22 indicated severe withdrawal symptoms requiring immediate benzodiazepine administration." — Emergency medicine note
- "Nursing staff must complete CIWA-Ar assessments every four hours for all patients undergoing alcohol detoxification." — Clinical protocol