brief_alcohol_withdrawal_scale: Brief Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (BAWS)

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

Brief Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (BAWS)

Description

Calculates the Brief Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (BAWS) score, a streamlined tool for assessing the severity of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and guiding symptom-triggered benzodiazepine therapy. The scale evaluates 5 clinical items, each scored from 0 to 3.

Usage

brief_alcohol_withdrawal_scale(tremor, sweating, agitation, orientation,
                               hallucinations)

Arguments

tremor	Numeric (0-3). 0: No tremor. 1: Not visible, but can be felt (fingertip to fingertip). 2: Moderate, visible with arms extended. 3: Severe, visible at rest without arms extended.
sweating	Numeric (0-3). Diaphoresis. 0: No sweats. 1: Mild, barely visible / moist palms. 2: Moderate, beads of sweat visible. 3: Drenching sweats.
agitation	Numeric (0-3). Based on RASS. 0: Alert and calm (RASS 0). 1: Restless, anxious, apprehensive (RASS +1). 2: Agitated, frequent non-purposeful movement (RASS +2). 3: Very agitated, combative, violent (RASS +3 or +4).
orientation	Numeric (0-3). Confusion/Sensorium. 0: Oriented to person, place, and time. 1: Disoriented to time OR place (but not both). 2: Disoriented to time AND place. 3: Disoriented to person.
hallucinations	Numeric (0-3). Visual, auditory, or tactile. 0: None. 1: Mild (vague report, reality testing intact). 2: Moderate (more defined hallucinations). 3: Severe (obviously responding to internal stimuli, poor reality testing).

Value

A list containing:

BAWS_Score	The calculated total score (Range 0-15).
Severity	Classification (Mild <3, Moderate 3-5, Severe 6-8, Very Severe >8).
Management_Protocol	Suggested benzodiazepine dosing based on the score.
Next_Step	Recommended reassessment interval.

References

Maldonado JR, Sher Y, Das S, et al. A prospective validation study of the prediction of alcohol withdrawal severity scale (PAWSS) in medically ill inpatients: a new scale for the prediction of complicated alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Alcohol Alcohol. 2015;50(5):509-518. (Contextual reference for withdrawal scales). MDCalc. Brief Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (BAWS).

Examples

# Example 1: Moderate Withdrawal
# Tremor (1), Sweating (1), Agitated (1), Oriented (0), No Hallucinations (0)
# Score = 3
brief_alcohol_withdrawal_scale(1, 1, 1, 0, 0)

# Example 2: Severe Withdrawal
# Tremor (2), Drenching Sweat (3), Agitated (2), Disoriented time/place (2), Mild Hallucinations (1)
# Score = 10
brief_alcohol_withdrawal_scale(2, 3, 2, 2, 1)

cliot documentation built on Dec. 1, 2025, 1:06 a.m.