FOCUS ON ALCOHOL TESTING BY DUFFY NABORS, SMARTOX Tools of the Trade
ETG vs. Urine Alcohol Testing: What’s the Difference?
A
lcohol is the most widely abused drug in America and accounts for a significant number of missed days
and accidents in the workplace. Additionally, alcohol is a tremendous concern in most probation departments and child-protection cases. Collectors have several tools available to determine whether a person is under the influence OR has consumed alcohol in the recent past. Tis article will focus on two types of urine tests, ETG (Ethyl glucuronide) and urine alcohol. While these two tests are oſten confused, they give VERY different information. If you’ve read any previous articles that I’ve
writen for DATIA focus, you will recognize a theme. I like to think of the different types of tests that we have available to us as tools in our toolbelt. Each job calls for the correct tool to give us the information that we need to make a determination on drug or alcohol use. For instance, hair testing is a great measure of regular drug use, but it is not an indicator of impairment. Similarly, oral fluid is a great matrix to use when trying to determine impairment, either during a non-DOT post- accident or reasonable suspicion test, but it isn’t a great indicator of a person’s lifestyle due to the relatively short window of detection. Urine alcohol testing is limited to the
detection of VERY recent consumption. Some studies indicate that alcohol will only show in the urine for a few hours, depending on the dosage. Urine alcohol tests are best used if alcohol is smelled on the breath, if the donor is acting “drunk,” or if there is reason to believe that the donor has had alcohol in the last hour or two. Urine alcohol testing will give approximately the same indication that an electronic alcohol screening device (ASD) would give. Because of this fact, many collectors choose to use alcohol-screening devices over urine alcohol tests. ETG tests identify ethyl glucuronide in the urine. Ethyl glucuronide is a minor metabolite
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of ethanol that is used as a biomarker to indicate consumption of alcohol. Multiple factors affect the window of detection for ETG in urine. Tese factors include how much alcohol the donor consumed and how their metabolism handles the breakdown of ethanol. Te consensus is that ETG will be present for 24–72 hours post consumption. Tis makes ETG testing ideal for abstinence programs, liver transplant facilities, and child- custody cases. Just like every other drug and/or alcohol
test on the market today, these tests are not without their flaws. Urine alcohol tests can be affected by Candida albicans, a yeast commonly found in the human body. Tis yeast could potentially use sugar in the urine as an energy source, causing fermentation either in the bladder or in a collection cup. Tis issue is especially prevalent in the urine of diabetic patients. Tis fermentation creates—you guessed it—alcohol, which is then detected by the urine alcohol test, leading to potential erroneous results. ETG testing can suffer from a similar issue, with most labs refusing to identify ETG if glucose is found in a sample (in the case of diabetic donors). Tis is because the glucose excreted in the urine of diabetics has the potential to be converted into ETG. As you can see, the job of a collector is
a very important one. We must identify what information our clients are wishing to obtain and then choose the proper tool from our belt to deliver that information as quickly as possible. ❚
Duffy Nabors is Vice Presi- dent, Sales and Marketing for Smartox. Smartox is a full line distributor of drug and alcohol tests as well as the exclusive North American
distributor of Intelligent Fingerprinting. Smar- tox is based in Irving, TX.
www.smartox.com
winter 2019
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