%0 Journal Article
%T Measurement of Ethanol Use in a Chronic Pain Population Using the Biomarker Phosphatidylethanol
%A Troy A. Buck
%A Paul M. Borsuk
%A McKenna P. Sheridan
%A Jie Xie
%A Joseph R. Holtman
%J Open Journal of Anesthesiology
%P 161-169
%@ 2164-5558
%D 2025
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ojanes.2025.156011
%X <b>Background:</b> Measurement of ethanol (EtOH) use in chronic pain patients has always been a challenge. Current biomarkers are easily confounded, giving unreliable results. Self-reporting is unreliable. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a recent EtOH biomarker that shows promise as an alternative measure of EtOH. <b>Methods:</b> Twenty patients were included in this study. All were 21 years of age or older and had chronic pain for greater than 3 months. Patients took the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire. Blood was collected for PEth testing. Correlation between Audit score (0 - 40) and PEth level (ng/mL) was done with the Pearson Product-moment correlation coefficient (SPSS). Values are means &#177; S.E.M. Significance at p &#8804; 0.05. Opioid use with EtOH use was also examined. <b>Results:</b> Twenty patients were enrolled, 17 (85%) males and 3 (15%) females. AUDIT scores were 8.1 &#177; 1.4. PEth levels were 178.3 &#177; 43.5. Eighty-five percent of patients had Audit scores indicating mild to moderate use of EtOH while 15% had severe use. PEth levels indicated 70% mild to moderate EtOH use and 30% heavy use. The correlation coefficient between the Audit score and PEth was 0.219 (p = 0.353) and not significant. Twenty-five percent of patients in the study were on opioids. The average PEth level in these patients was 273 &#177; 101.7. <b>Conclusions: </b>There is a poor correlation between self-reporting of EtOH use per AUDIT and PEth levels. Twenty-five percent of patients in the study were also on opioids, with PEth levels indicating high levels of EtOH consumption in this group. This suggests that self-reporting of EtOH use is inadequate in the chronic pain setting to detect actual EtOH use.
%K Chronic Pain
%K Alcohol
%K Phosphatidylethanol
%K PEth
%K EtOH
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=143310