ETG Testing: Ensuring Alcohol Abstinence
Even when the smell of alcohol is gone, it can still linger in the body. And that’s why breath and saliva tests can be unreliable.
Instead, ETG testing is a more reliable way of detecting alcohol in the body even after the superficial evidence is gone. While alcohol can still be detected on the breath after 24 hours, EtG testing – specifically from urine – can find it several days after consumption.
But what is an EtG test, and why is it the best way for revealing alcohol use? Read on to find out…
What is EtG Testing?
First thing’s first – EtG stands for ethyl glucuronide. This is a by-product of ethanol (alcohol) that remains in the body.
While EtG urine testing can find alcohol use long after the fact, it may not tell you exactly how much alcohol was consumed after a certain time frame. With that being said, it can’t tell you whether the person is still currently under the influence, but it provides confirmation of use.
If the goal is to confirm alcohol abstinence, then an EtG test is ideal. However, if the goal is to find out if the person may still be intoxicated, then a blood or breathalyzer test is more ideal.
Aside from EtG urine testing, hair can also be used to determine the past presence of alcohol. Only a single hair is needed to confirm results. Again, this is not a method that should be used if very recent alcohol use is suspected.
Measuring Results
The EtG urine testing is very sensitive. It will return a negative if the person has not been exposed to alcohol in the past five days or so.
If it returns a positive, then the lab can read the results to determine how much alcohol was consumed recently. For example, a result of 1,000ng/mL of EtG may suggest a person may have been drinking heavily that day.
In some cases, there could be a very low reading (under 500ng/mL) and can turn out to be a false positive. In this case, another testing method may be used to confirm.
What Are EtG Tests Used For?
There are a variety of reasons why an EtG test may be ordered. For example, it may be an alcohol recovery program monitoring use.
It could be needed by a program following a DUI conviction or required by the court. In other cases, it could be part of a liver transplant protocol.
An EtG test is not typically used to detect whether a person has been using alcohol while on the job. That’s because it could return a positive, even if the person has not been drinking that day.
Rely On EtG Alcohol Testing
EtG testing is a reliable way of showing whether a person has fairly recently consumed alcohol, even after the scent is gone. However, it is not the ideal method of use if the goal is to learn whether a person is intoxicated.
Learn more about all of the tests available and how they should be used by contacting us today.
