Positive phosphatidyl-ethanol test in liver disease patients: You can't handle the truth!

The limited diagnostic accuracy of patients' self-reported alcohol use in assessing alcohol-drinking behavior from an objective standpoint has led to development of biomarkers of alcohol use. Of the amount of alcohol consumed, 92% undergoes metabolism, 98% is metabolized to acetaldehyde and remaining 2% via non-oxidative mechanisms to ethyl glucuronide and phosphatidylethanol (PEth) [1]. Measurement of whole blood phosphatidylethanol (PEth) level has the advantages of being most accurate (sensitivity of 90 –99% and specificity of 100% at level>20 ng/mL and a window period of detection of up to 3, 4 weeks from the last alcohol use due to its binding with tissue membranes and red blood cells [1,2].
Source: Digestive and Liver Disease - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research