What does Cage stand for in CAGE questionnaire?
Robert Miller
Published Mar 12, 2026
What does Cage stand for in CAGE questionnaire?
CAGE is derived from the four questions of the tool: Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, and Eye-opener. CAGE Source: Ewing 1984.
What is the cage assessment used for?
The CAGE questionnaire is used to test for alcohol abuse and dependence in adults. The CAGE- AID version of the tool has been adapted to include drug use. These tools are not used to diagnose diseases, but only to indicate whether a problem might exist.
What are the 4 CAGE questions?
CAGE Alcohol Questionnaire (CAGE)
- Have you ever felt you needed to Cut down on your drinking?
- Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
- Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?
- Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
When do you use the CAGE questionnaire?
Screens for excessive drinking and alcoholism. CAGE should be included among standard history questions in primary care, emergency department, psychiatric and inpatient hospital settings. CAGE is designed for adults and adolescents >16 years.
What is a major difference between the cage and the audit?
The AUDIT questionnaire has been found not only to have a high sensitivity (83%) and specificity (90%) for identifying alcohol dependence, but also to be more sensitive than the CAGE questionnaire (85% vs 75%) for identifying harmful drinking, hazardous drinking, and at-risk drinking.
What is the significance of a positive score on the cage?
Scoring: Item responses on the CAGE are scored 0 or 1, with a higher score an indication of alcohol problems. A total score of 2 or greater is considered clinically significant.
What is Cage aid?
A five-question tool used to screen for drug and alcohol use; answering yes to two or more questions indicates a complete assessment is advised.
What is a positive CAGE score?
Item responses on the CAGE are scored 0 or 1, with a higher score an indication of alcohol problems. A total score of 2 or greater is considered clinically significant. If the screen is positive, the clinician can further screen with quantity and frequency questions.
What is the difference between the AUDIT and the cage as screening tools?
What does audit-C stand for?
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) is an alcohol screen that can help identify patients who are hazardous drinkers or have active alcohol use disorders (including alcohol abuse or dependence).
How reliable is the CAGE questionnaire?
CAGE has demonstrated high test-retest reliability (0.80-0.95), and adequate correlations with other instruments (0.48-0.70). It also appears to have adequate validity for detecting alcohol abuse/dependence in medical and surgical inpatients, psychiatric inpatients, and ambulatory medical patients.
What causes alcohol amnestic disorder?
Korsakoff syndrome is a chronic memory disorder caused by severe deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B-1). Korsakoff syndrome is most commonly caused by alcohol misuse, but certain other conditions also can cause the syndrome.