Clinical Staging of Alcohol Use Disorder: Proposal of a New Stratified Approach.

Abstract

Introduction: Clinical staging is widely applied in various fields of Medicine. Staging makes it possible to constitute early diagnoses and interventions, improving prognosis and preventing disease progression. In relation to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), staging is still an underdeveloped subject in the scientific literature. The treatment of AUD is effective for a minority of patients, requiring more targeted interventions individually. This study aims to propose a staging model for AUD that establishes key factors related to the progression of the disorder.

Method: Non-systematic review of the literature on Pubmed/Medline database focusing on articles about AUD and that present a stratified classification and treatment outcomes for that subpopulation through the progression of the disease.

Results: The model proposed includes stages 0 (latent), I A, I B, II A, II B, III A, III B and IV.

Discussion: This study can be used as a basis for a myriad of other reviews with the aim of validating a staging model in AUD. We recommend a systematic review study to validate the model suggested in this study and correlate clinical aspects with neurobiological aspects and the effectiveness of certain treatments.

Conclusion: This work shows that, based on the stratified classification of response to treatment, it is possible to suggest a staging model for AUD. Furthermore, the stages can be subdivided based on different clinical characteristics, risk factors, prognosis and management.