Alcohol Testing
About Alcohol Abuse
Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol will not do you any physical or psychological harm. However, for some people, social drinking can lead to heavier drinking, which can cause serious health problems.
It is estimated that 1 in 13 people in the UK are alcoholics, with several million drinking excessively, to the extent where they are putting their health at risk.
Heavy drinking is linked to suicide, murder, fatal accidents, and many fatal diseases. It can increase your chances of developing cirrhosis of the liver, and it has been associated with many different types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, mouth, larynx (voicebox) and liver.
As well as being directly related to many serious diseases, drinking large amounts of alcohol can also lead to poor sexual performance, and it can harm an unborn baby.
If you have an alcohol related problem, there are many ways in which you can get help to reduce your drinking, and there are also many services that you can use that will help you stop altogether.
How can GLG help?
GLG offer a service that is guaranteed to benefit your company’s requirements.
Service Specification
The service provided by GLG will include the testing of 25% of your employees each calendar year, which is approximately 200 staff tested in the year. This will take place on a completely random basis. There will be at least one visit per week at your requested site. There will normally be a minimum of 10 employees tested each visit (which can vary depending upon time of day) and will consist of a ‘random’ selection from a ‘time based’ duties list. Those chosen will be on a first number basis from the duty list.
Any personal information obtained by GLG will be dealt with in the strictest confidence at all times under the Date Protection Act 1998.
Testing Procedure
The donor will be asked to give a breath sample using an Alcometer and to assist the collector with completing the Breath Alcohol testing form and upon completion the donor will be asked to sign the form and the collectors log book.
If the result is 30Mg/100ml, (0.15 Mg/ml BrAC, 0.03% BAC), or under then the donor is permitted to commence his/her normal duties. Should the result be above 30 Mg/100ml, (0.15 Mg/ml BrAC, 0.03% BAC), the donor will be kept under supervision, and a second test will be conducted one hour after the first test result. At 20 minutes prior to the second test the donor must not have smoked or consumed any alcoholic drink or aromatic beverage such as a fruit juice, or used any product containing alcohol such as a mouthwash.
Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT)
CDT testing is now commonly being used to help detect alcohol abusers and help prove previous abusers are no longer drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. This procedure is used frequently by the likes of solicitors, as it offers accurate results.
The test is performed on a blood sample, which is taken from the patient. Once analysed, accurate results are produced to help determine whether a patient is consuming 50 to 80 grams of alcohol a day over a period of two weeks or more. This is classed as excessive alcohol consumption.
A guide to CDT results
A negative result indicates there is no excessive alcohol consumption within approximately 4 weeks. The laboratory also indicates that the patient could still be drinking a small amount but not enough to be detected by this method. The patient would need to consume 50 to 80 grams of alcohol a day to reach a positive result over a period of 2-4 weeks.
If the negative result is not satisfactory then it would be necessary to re-test the CDT level in one month, giving the recommended time if there is suspicion of a high alcohol intake being consumed on a daily basis. If the result is the same, or lower, then this would indicate the patient is not consuming an excessive intake of high level alcohol but does not rule out the possibility of a small amount.
If the CDT level is reported as >1.5 this indicates the CDT level is POSITIVE.
The client would therefore be consuming 50-80 grams of alcohol a day for the last 2-4 weeks. It is important that this level is monitored again in monthly intervals until you are satisfied the client is not consuming a high level of alcohol. It is recommended at least a 3-6 month period.
The normal values that are detailed with the results are a guideline for everyone. These guides are not specifically details for your client. They give a brief interpretation for people to measure the levels of CDT and are printed the same for every patient having the test.
These ranges come from the laboratory, along with the results. For supporting evidence, some clients also have MCV and Gamma GT tested in patients suffering from alcohol abuse. If the level in the blood for these is high, this indicates that the client is consuming excessive alcohol.
High levels of Gamma GT indicate alcohol abuse over a longer period of time. The results take between 5-10 days. A similar interpretation guide will also be sent to you with your results.
Interested in using GLG for your Alcohol Screening?
If you are interested in using our fast, accurate and effective service then please do not hesitate to contact the laboratory to speak to a member of the GLG team. We are happy to provide you with our highly competitive prices and any additional information.
