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Other causes of failed PEth test for alcohol abuse?
Mental Health | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (447)Comment receiving replies
Yorkie-
We had this initial concern, but stopped allowing the alcohol swabbing and yet still had false positive results (affirmed by negative tests from another place with samples given just minutes after the first one). It was NOT the alcohol swab, in my opinion, validated by a toxicologist who reiterated that the test is NOT checking for alcohol, but for phosphatidyl ethanol, an alleged byproduct of the body’s processing of heavy alcohol consumption. The ONLY false positives I EVER received were from Forensic DNA & Testing in Dallas. To date, the three other test facilities have, rightly so since I don’t drink at all anymore, resulted in negative. My common denominator was FDNA.
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Fair enough @fairlaneowner, I just wasn't sure if the red blood cells in the sample would react with the alcohol from the swab and create the PEth byproduct outside the body. Just a thought. I attached some information from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin that has some interesting information on biomarkers including PEth test.
I still am waiting for my appointment with my provider who ordered the PEth test. The information in the SAMHSA brochure, which was directly referenced on my lab report, states that a single biomarker should not be damming and taken into context with other tests for a solid picture. This literature even says false positives are "unlikely but still unknown due to paucity of research".
SAMHSA (SAMHSA.pdf)