Surrogate Alcohol or Nonbeverage Alcohol Consumption: The Surrogate Alcohol Questionnaire (SAQ)

The authors describe 4 patients who presented with surrogate alcohol consumption. The authors review the clinical issues and literature related to surrogate alcohol use. The authors describe the array of substances, which either contain ethanol, but are not intended for drinking, or which contain other intoxicating alcohols (e.g., methanol), that are consumed in lieu of traditional beverage alcohol. Furthermore, the authors discuss standard medical treatment interventions for ethanol and non-ethanol based alcohols. The authors propose a screening tool, the surrogate alcohol questionnaire, a tool to facilitate better recognition of surrogate alcohol use.