Open AccessSignificance and clinical impact of routinely tested urinary ethyl glucuronide after liver transplantation – development of a risk score
Author(s) -
Grottenthaler Julia M.,
Konzelmann Annette,
Stiegler Anette,
Hinterleitner Clemens,
Bott Sarah M.,
Klag Thomas,
Werner Christoph R.,
Hinterleitner Martina,
Königsrainer Alfred,
Batra Anil,
Malek Nisar P.,
Nadalin Silvio,
Berg Christoph P.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
transplant international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.998
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1432-2277
pISSN - 0934-0874
DOI - 10.1111/tri.14007
Subject(s) - medicine , liver transplantation , transplantation , ethyl glucuronide , liver disease , alcoholic liver disease , urinary system , clinical significance , gastroenterology , alcohol , cirrhosis , alcohol consumption , chemistry , biochemistry
Summary Alcohol abuse after liver transplantation can seriously impact graft and patient survival. However, to date, there is no defined standard procedure to identify patients consuming alcohol after liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic value and clinical impact of routinely measured urinary ethyl glucuronide (uEtG) – a metabolite of ethanol – in patients after liver transplantation. Data of 362 consecutive patients after liver transplantation who visited the University Hospital of Tuebingen for outpatient follow‐up were analyzed. Forty‐eight patients (13%) displayed positive uEtG results. The uEtG positive group contained significantly more patients with pretransplant alcoholic liver disease. However, two thirds of the uEtG positive patients had no history of pretransplant alcoholic liver disease. Several clinical parameters were significantly associated with positive uEtG. In order to enable a more cost‐effective application of uEtG in the future, a clinical risk score was developed (specificity 0.95). In conclusion, routine testing for uEtG reveals a considerable percentage of patients practicing alcohol intake after liver transplantation. Application of our proposed risk score could help focusing uEtG testing on patients at risk.