The TWEAK and T-ACE screening tools are validated methods of identifying problem drinking in a pregnant population.
The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the TWEAK and T-ACE screening tools in identifying problem drinking using traditional cut-points (CP).
The study consisted of 75 problem and 100 non-problem drinkers. Using traditional CP, the TWEAK and T-ACE tools both performed similarly at identifying potential at-risk women (positive predictive value = 0.54), with very high sensitivity rates (100–99% and 100–93%, respectively) but poor specificity rates (36–43% and 19–34%, respectively). Upon comparison, there was no statistical difference in the effectiveness for one test performing better than next using either CP of 2 (P = 0.66) or CP of 3 (P = 0.38).
Despite the lack of difference in performance, improved specificity associated with TWEAK suggests that it may be better suited to screen at-risk populations seeking advice from a helpline.
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