Premium
Cut‐Point Levels of Phosphatidylethanol to Identify Alcohol Misuse in a Mixed Cohort Including Critically Ill Patients
Author(s) -
Afshar Majid,
Burnham Ellen L.,
Joyce Cara,
Clark Brendan J.,
Yong Meagan,
Gaydos Jeannette,
Cooper Richard S.,
Smith Gordon S.,
Kovacs Elizabeth J.,
Lowery Erin M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.13471
Subject(s) - phosphatidylethanol , medicine , receiver operating characteristic , alcohol use disorders identification test , logistic regression , biomarker , cohort , intensive care unit , area under the curve , psychiatry , emergency medicine , poison control , injury prevention , phospholipid , biochemistry , genetics , biology , chemistry , membrane , phosphatidylcholine
Background Although alcohol misuse is associated with deleterious outcomes in critically ill patients, its detection by either self‐report or examination of biomarkers is difficult to obtain consistently. Phosphatidylethanol ( PE th) is a direct alcohol biomarker that can characterize alcohol consumption patterns; however, its diagnostic accuracy in identifying misuse in critically ill patients is unknown. Methods PE th values were obtained in a mixed cohort comprising 122 individuals from medical and burn intensive care units ( n = 33), alcohol detoxification unit ( n = 51), and healthy volunteers ( n = 38). Any alcohol misuse and severe misuse were referenced by Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and AUDIT ‐C scores separately. Mixed‐effects logistic regression analysis was performed, and the discrimination of PE th was evaluated using the area under the receiver‐operating characteristic ( ROC ) curve. Results The area under the ROC curve for PE th was 0.927 (95% CI : 0.877, 0.977) for any misuse and 0.906 (95% CI : 0.850, 0.962) for severe misuse defined by AUDIT . By AUDIT ‐C, the area under the ROC curves was 0.948 (95% CI : 0.910, 0.956) for any misuse and 0.913 (95% CI : 0.856, 0.971) for severe misuse. The PE th cut‐points of ≥250 and ≥400 ng/ml provided optimal discrimination for any misuse and severe misuse, respectively. The positive predictive value for ≥250 ng/ml was 88.7% (95% CI : 77.5, 95.0), and the negative predictive value was 86.7% (95% CI : 74.9, 93.7). PE th ≥ 400 ng/ml achieved similar values, and similar results were shown for AUDIT ‐C. In a subgroup analysis of critically ill patients only, test characteristics were similar to the mixed cohort. Conclusions PE th is a strong predictor and has good discrimination for any and severe alcohol misuse in a mixed cohort that includes critically ill patients. Cut‐points at 250 ng/ml for any, and 400 ng/ml for severe, are favorable. External validation will be required to establish these cut‐points in critically ill patients.