OBJECTIVES: This work speaks of a pilot test administered in four public services with emergency care (one at a hospital and three at community clinics) in the city of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, to test an assessment protocol for Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome. Involved were auxiliaries, technicians and soon-to-be-nurses. The object was to evaluate the protocol´s potential as a guide to nursing care, and to test whether it was adequate in terms of comprehension and applicability. METHODS: A protocol based on the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment was constructed to be applied by nursing professionals in hospitals and community clinics, allowing for possible alterations based upon individual patients. Fifty-nine workers tested the protocol over four months. RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients (21 women and 47 men), with average age between 34 and 40 years, were interviewed. Alcohol was the predominant drug of use (90%) on a daily average between both sexes. The protocol was designed to systematize health care. Among its purposes were: to facilitate care (42.4%); provide a script for faster orientation (30.5%); provide information giving professional updates (25.4%); provide explanations regarding the particular sickness (23.7). CONCLUSIONS: The experience was positive, identifying a lack of knowledge about Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome. However, an interest to learn more on the subject became evident among workers.
Alcoholism; Substance withdrawal syndrome; Nursing care
