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. 2006 Jul-Aug;41(4):431-7.
doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agl027. Epub 2006 Apr 19.

PHosphatidylethanol (PEth) concentrations in blood are correlated to reported alcohol intake in alcohol-dependent patients

Steina Aradottir  1 , Gulber Asanovska, Stefan Gjerss, Per Hansson, Christer Alling
Affiliations

PHosphatidylethanol (PEth) concentrations in blood are correlated to reported alcohol intake in alcohol-dependent patients

Steina Aradottir et al. Alcohol Alcohol. 2006 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Aims: Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an abnormal phospholipid formed only in the presence of ethanol by the enzyme phospholipase D. PEth in blood is a promising new marker for ethanol abuse. None of the biological markers used at the present time is sensitive and specific enough for the diagnosis of alcoholism.

Methods: The most frequently used alcohol markers [carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV)] were studied together with PEth in actively drinking alcohol-dependent patients (inpatients and outpatients), with regard to correlation to ethanol intake and diagnostic sensitivity of the markers. The relation between the markers was also studied.

Results: PEth, CDT, and GGT correlated to ethanol intake, with the strongest correlation found for PEth. The diagnostic sensitivity for PEth was 99%, and for other markers it varied between 40 and 77%. Only when CDT was combined with GGT was a sensitivity of 94% reached. PEth correlated to CDT and GGT but not to MCV. CDT did not correlate to GGT or MCV.

Conclusions: Blood concentrations of PEth are highly correlated to ethanol intake, and the present results indicate that its diagnostic sensitivity is higher than that for previously established alcohol markers.

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