[Identification of patients at risk of alcohol related damage]

Alcohol is clearly underestimated as an etiological factor in clinical medicine. A number of acute and chronic medical conditions are related to alcohol consumption, even when there are no signs of alcohol dependence. This article describes a new screening instrument proposed and developed by the WHO, AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), to be used in hospitals and general medical settings. The clinical component of this instrument is based on analyses of regular patients where the level of consumption was used as the dependent variable. This makes it possible to assess the extent and risk of alcohol-related problems without actually discussing alcohol with the patient. The alcohol-specific component can be used for a more detailed exploration of the patient's use of alcohol.