Specimen Requirements
Title
Phosphatidylethanol (PEth), Blood
Specimen Requirement
Collect lavender EDTA, send 2.0 mL whole blood.
Methodology
Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
Stability
Room temp: 5 days, Refrigerated: 30 days, Frozen: 30 days
Reference Range
By Report*
Turnaround
3-5 days performed Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Clinical Use
Test includes:
PEth 16:0/18:1 (POPEth) and PEth 16:0/18:2 (PLPEth)
As a long-term, specific and direct biomarker of alcohol consumption, Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a group of phospholipids formed in the presence of ethanol and incorporated into the phospholipid membrane of red blood cells. PEth detection is suggestive of ethanol ingestion over multiple days. PEth is detectable for 1-2 weeks. The predominant PEth homologues are PEth 16:0/18:1 (POPEth) and PEth 16:0/18:2 (PLPEth), which account for 37-46% and 26-28% of the total PEth homologues, respectively.
Test Code
PETH