EtG Test for Confirming Alcohol Abstinence

EtG Test for Confirming Alcohol Abstinence Addiction Alcohol Use Print EtG Test for Confirming Alcohol Abstinence By Buddy T facebook twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial policy Buddy T Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on October 09, 2019 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on October 15, 2019 Peter Dazeley Collection/Photographers Choice/Getty Images More in Addiction Alcohol Use Binge Drinking Withdrawal and Relapse Children of Alcoholics Drunk Driving Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery The ethyl glucuronide (EtG) test is widely used to detect the presence in the urine of ethyl glucuronide, a breakdown product of ethanol, the intoxicating agent in alcohol. It can also screen for EtG in your blood, hair, and nails, but the urine test is the most widely used.  The main purpose of an EtG test is to document?  alcohol abstinence. What the EtG Test Is Used For The test for EtG is widely used to detect alcohol abstinence in situations that do not allow drinking, including: Alcohol treatment programs??A DUI or DWI programLiver transplant patients??Schools or the militaryProfessional monitoring programs (for example, airline pilots, healthcare professionals, attorneys)Court cases (for example, child custody)Probation programs Its important to note that the EtG test is not recommended for use in workplace testing programs as it does not measure current impairment from alcohol. Detection Time Frame The EtG test is quite sensitive and can detect even low levels of alcohol. In fact, the test can detect alcohol in the urine up to five days after consumption. In studies of participants without alcohol-use disorders, EtG has been detected in urine samples for up to 80 hours (3.3 days) after heavy alcohol exposure. Limitations A problem with the EtG test is that it can produce a positive test from the mere exposure to alcohol thats present in many daily use products.?? Examples of environmental or home products that contain alcohol include: Foods prepared with or flavored with alcoholCleaning productsMouthwashesBreath spraysHand sanitizersHygiene products like antiperspirantAftershaveCosmeticsHair dye The reality is that there are hundreds of household products that contain ethanol, according to the National Library of Healths Household Products Database, and exposure to them could possibly lead to a false positive on the EtG test. Interpreting Results The following cutoff values have been proposed: High positive EtG test (for example, 1,000ng/mL) may indicate: Heavy drinking on the same day or the previous day??Light drinking on the same day as the test Low positive EtG test (for example, 500 to 1,000ng/mL) may indicate: Heavy drinking within the last one to three daysLight drinking within the last 24 hoursRecent intense exposure to environmental products containing alcohol (within the last 24 hours)?? Very low positive EtG test (for example, 100 to 500 ng/mL) may indicate: Heavy drinking within the last one to three daysLight drinking within the last 12 to 36 hours??Recent exposure to environmental products containing alcohol SAMHSA lists EtG as a test that can help both rule in or rule out whether someone has been drinking with high accuracy. The EtG test accurately detects a person who recently consumed alcohol 70 percent or more of the time. One study showed that for moderate to heavy drinking, this number jumps to 85 percent. A Word From Verywell All in all, the EtG test is considered a highly useful test for detecting recent alcohol consumption. But like any test, there is the possibility for a false positive. This is why a positive test should be confirmed either with another test or with verification from the person that he or she did indeed drink alcohol.   Hopefully, as the research on EtG and other alcohol biomarkers unfold, there will be increasingly accurate ways to distinguish between true alcohol use and exposure to alcohol in environmental products.   How a CDT Test Detects Dangerous Alcohol Consumption