title: Clinical application of ethyl glucuronide testing in the U.S. Army.
abstract: This study examined the clinical characteristics of ethyl glucuronide testing among service members referred to a military substance abuse program. The authors analyzed 1,852 urine specimens from 328 service members collected over a two year period. Among all participants, approximately one-fifth (n = 45/262, 17.2%) produced a positive ethyl glucuronide result at the initial assessment. Nearly two-thirds (n = 29/45, 64%) of the service members who initially tested positive had at least one additional positive specimen during the next five sequential tests. A statistically significant decline (p = 0.017) in ethyl glucuronide levels occurred with serial testing over time. The authors suggest that ethyl glucuronide testing can join with other risk mitigation strategies to help reduce alcohol-related adverse incidents.
authors.affiliation: The Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. rglande@act85.com
authors.forename: R Gregory
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Lande
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marin
authors.forename: Audrey S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000652:urine*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D005965:Glucuronates / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005965:Glucuronates; C093924:ethyl glucuronide