Two prenatal alcohol use screening instruments compared with a physiologic measure.

OBJECTIVE

To compare two prenatal alcohol use screening instruments with a physiologic measure of prenatal alcohol use.

DESIGN

Retrospective comparison of the Prenatal Alcohol Use Interview (PAUI) and the ACOG Antepartum Record with CDTect.

SETTING

An inner-city, high-volume, prenatal clinic.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-six women selected and enrolled at their first prenatal visits.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: An assessment of relative sensitivity and specificity of two prenatal alcohol use screening instruments.

RESULTS

Women identified as Drinkers by the CDTect were more likely to be identified as Drinkers by the PAUI (59%) than by the ACOG Antepartum Record (19%). Also, the PAUI had a lower false negative rate (41%) than the ACOG record (80%). That is, the PAUI was less likely to identify as Quitters women the CDTect identified as Drinkers than was the ACOG record.

CONCLUSION

The PAUI is a more sensitive screen than the ACOG record and should be the instrument preferred for screening prenatal alcohol use.