Protocol for intervention and treatment of alcohol withdrawal

The incidence of alcohol dependence/abuse in patients of a general health care facility is 35-50%. The diagnosis and treatment of patients experiencing or at risk of alcohol withdrawal is problematic. The admitting diagnosis is usually another medical condition, illness or injury. Signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal is complicated by pre-existing conditions. In an attempt to improve the quality of care, decrease the length of stay of these patients, and decrease demands on nursing staff, a protocol for intervention and treatment of alcohol withdrawal was developed on the orthopedic ward of Royal University Hospital. The protocol enables each nurse to assess. Intervene and initiate the proper referrals. The recognized tool of assessment used to identify at risk patients is the CAGE questionnaire. The Clinical Institute WithDrawal Assessment for Alcohol scale is used to determine when it is appropriate to use Benzodiazepines. General nursing considerations are addressed through a pre-printed care plan. Nurses refer to social work, Alcoholics Anonymous and make use of available resource material. The protocol enables nurses to provide safe and effective care with few associated costs. Except for mass immunization, there is no other single intervention in health care that has the same far reaching consequences (Sullivan, 1995).