26853 Ethyl Glucuronide Confirmation, Random, Urine (ETGC)

​Alcohol biomarkers​

​Monitoring abstinence in clinical and justice system settings

​Collect a random urine specimen.

No preservative.

Additional Information:

1. No specimen substitutions.

2. STAT requests are not accepted for this test.

3. Submitting less than 1 mL will compromise our ability to perform all necessary testing.

All specimens will be evaluated at mayo Clinic Laboratories for test suitability.

​Incidental exposure to alcohol in many daily use products (ie, hand sanitizers, mouthwash) may result in detectable levels of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) or ethyl sulfate (EtS).​

In addition, upper respiratory infections as well as beta-glucuronidase hydrolysis may lower levels of EtG but do not seem to affect EtS.

EtG/EtS results should be interpreted in the context of all available clinical and behavioral information.

​Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS) are minor metabolites of ethanol that are detectable in body fluids following alcohol consumption and, less commonly, following extraneous exposure. EtG and EtS can be detected up to 5 days in urine using a cutoff of 500 ng/mL.

​A positive interpretation will be given if either the ethyl glucuronide (EtG) result is greater than or equal to 250 ng/mL or the ethyl sulfate (EtS) is greater than or equal to 100 ng/mL.

A "high" positive (ie, >1000 ng/mL) may indicate:

-Heavy drinking on the same day or previously (ie, previous day or 2).

-Light drinking the same day

A "low" positive (ie, 500-1000 ng/mL) may indicate:

-Previous heavy drinking (ie, previous 1-3 days)

-Recent light drinking (ie, past 24 hours)

-Recent intense "extraneous" exposure (ie, within 24 hours or less)

A "very low" positive (ie, 100-500 ng/mL) may indicate:

-Previous heavy drinking (ie, 1-3 days)

-Previous light drinking (ie, 12-36 hours)

-Recent "extraneous" exposure