gmaws_score: Glasgow Modified Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (GMAWS)

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

Glasgow Modified Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (GMAWS)

Description

Calculates the GMAWS score, a 5-item scale used to assess the severity of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Each item is scored from 0 to 2. This scale is widely used in the UK and other regions to guide symptom-triggered benzodiazepine therapy.

Usage

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

Arguments

tremor	Numeric (0-2). 0: No tremor. 1: Mild tremor. 2: Moderate/Severe tremor.
hallucinations	Numeric (0-2). 0: No hallucinations. 1: Mild hallucinations (distraction possible). 2: Severe hallucinations (continuous, no distraction possible).
orientation	Numeric (0-2). 0: Oriented to Time, Place, Person. 1: Oriented to 2 spheres. 2: Oriented to 1 or 0 spheres.
agitation	Numeric (0-2). 0: No agitation. 1: Mild agitation. 2: Moderate/Severe agitation (or aggression).
sweating	Numeric (0-2). 0: No sweating. 1: Moist palms / Mild sweat. 2: Drenching sweats.

Value

A list containing:

GMAWS_Score	The calculated total score (Range 0-10).
Severity	Clinical severity classification (Mild <4, Moderate 4-7, Severe >=8).
Management_Guidance	General treatment recommendation based on the score threshold of 4.

References

McPherson A, et al. A new scale for the assessment of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. 2004. (Standard guideline reference).

Examples

# Example 1: Treatment Threshold Met
# Moderate tremor (2), Mild sweat (1), Agitation (1)
# Score = 4
gmaws_score(2, 0, 0, 1, 1)

# Example 2: Mild Withdrawal
# Mild tremor only
# Score = 1
gmaws_score(1, 0, 0, 0, 0)

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