Alcohol Withdrawal in the Hospital: CIWA, Benzodiazepines & Phenobarbital Explained | S2 Ep.3

In this episode of Transformed Minds Season 2, Dr. O sits down with addiction medicine specialist Dr. Desai, a CATCH Team Lead Physician (Consult for Addiction Treatment and Care in Hospitals), for a deep clinical dive into alcohol withdrawal management in the hospital setting.Whether you're a hospitalist, internist, nurse, resident, addiction medicine clinician, or medical student, this episode gives you a practical, bedside framework you can use immediately.What You'll Learn:A practical framework for risk-stratifying alcohol withdrawal at the bedsideWhen and how to use CIWA and what most clinicians get wrongHow to choose between benzodiazepine regimens based on patient profileWhen phenobarbital enters the picture and how to use it safelyHow an interdisciplinary consult model changes outcomes for hospitalized patients with alcohol use disorderChapters00:00 Why Early Assessment Matters00:49 Welcome to Transformed Minds02:38 Meet Dr. Desai04:37 What Is the CATCH Team07:26 Alcohol Withdrawal Red Flags13:10 Bedside CIWA and Reassessment15:16 Symptom-Triggered Protocols18:10 High-Risk Withdrawal Timeline20:22 Front-Loading and Fixed Tapers25:58 Complicated Withdrawal and Phenobarbital36:54 Choosing the Right Benzo39:32 Key Takeaways and Wrap UpSubscribe to Transformed Minds for clinical education on psychiatric and addiction care, advocacy and tips.