The differences between Phosphatidylethanol and CDT?

Doctors can use several biochemical measurements to objectively assess patients' current or past alcohol use. These include the alcohol biomarkers Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and Phosphatidylethanol (PEth).

CDT is a widely tested biomarker that can be used to assess chronic alcohol intake of more than 60 g ethanol/d, which is used in different settings for routine detection of heavy alcohol consumption and follow-up of treatment.

PEth – a newer marker, is a metabolite of ethanol formed when an enzyme, phospholipase D binds ethanol to phosphatidylcholine lipids in cell membranes. A positive PEth test result - measuring phosphatidylethanol species 16:0/18:1 – indicates alcohol consumption during the 28 days prior to specimen collection.

The American Heart Association's journal ‘Stroke’ recently published a report of a 22-year study that showed that the likelihood of having an intracerebral haemorrhage was nearly five times higher for those with the highest PEth blood concentrations than those with the lowest concentrations.

At Cansford, we are often asked by medical doctors to explain the difference between CDT and PEth testing – we do so here below:

References

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