Computer-aided alcoholism diagnosis in obstetric-gynecologic medical settings

A computer-aided Alcoholism Diagnostic ALGOrithm (ADALGO) based on the NCA criteria for the diagnosis of alcoholism is applied in 233 obstetric and gynecologic patients. Alcoholism symptoms in the patients were intensively investigated by means of a 10-page, self-administered questionnaire, a 45-minute interview, and a medical record review. Alcoholism diagnoses based on the resulting set of 43 NCA symptoms are compared with ADALGO diagnoses utilizing an average of 26 symptoms. Agreement was achieved in 95.7% of the cases for dichotomous, alcoholic-nonalcoholic diagnoses and in 91% of the cases using a five-category alcoholism diagnostic schema. The feasibility of routinely screening for and diagnosing alcohol-related problems in ambulatory care settings using ADALGO and the NCA criteria is discussed.