Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management
IntroductionThis study aimed to determine if phosphatidylethanol (PEth) levels are associated with alcohol withdrawal severity among individuals seeking inpatient withdrawal management.MethodsA prospective study enrolled individuals undergoing alcohol withdrawal treatment at a ASAM level 4 inpatient...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1567617/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849468981783560192 |
|---|---|
| author | Jeong Hoo Lee Jeong Hoo Lee Veronica Szpak Lisa W. Vercollone Peter R. Chai Peter R. Chai Charlotte E. Goldfine Charlotte E. Goldfine Samuel Maddams Joji Suzuki Joji Suzuki |
| author_facet | Jeong Hoo Lee Jeong Hoo Lee Veronica Szpak Lisa W. Vercollone Peter R. Chai Peter R. Chai Charlotte E. Goldfine Charlotte E. Goldfine Samuel Maddams Joji Suzuki Joji Suzuki |
| author_sort | Jeong Hoo Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThis study aimed to determine if phosphatidylethanol (PEth) levels are associated with alcohol withdrawal severity among individuals seeking inpatient withdrawal management.MethodsA prospective study enrolled individuals undergoing alcohol withdrawal treatment at a ASAM level 4 inpatient unit. Primary outcome was the association between serum PEth levels with alcohol withdrawal medication requirements in diazepam equivalent (mg). Secondary objectives examined associations between PEth levels, Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA) scores, drinking history, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and Prediction of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scale (PAWSS) scores.ResultsThirty participants (mean age 48.7 years, SD 11.7; 67.7% white) reported average daily alcohol consumption of 14.2 drinks (SD 11.4, range 1.2-47.6) and percent heavy drinking days of 72% (SD 31.9, range 13.3-100). Nine (29%) reported history of withdrawal seizures and seven (22.6%) reported history of delirium tremens. Admission PEth (PO, ng/mL) levels (mean 934.9, SD 546.6; range 42 - 2000-) did not significantly associate with total medication requirements (r=0.05, p=0.78) or CIWA scores (r=0.09 to -0.14, p>0.05). PEth levels showed no significant correlations with AUDIT (r=0.17, p=0.35) or PAWSS scores (r=0.13, p=0.50). However, significant correlations were found between PEth levels and average drinks per day (r=0.54, p=0.002), as well as with the percentage of heavy drinking days (r=0.54, p=0.002).Discussion and conclusionsConsistent with prior reports, PEth levels appear to correlate with patients’ alcohol consumption including heavy drinking, but our results did not find that PEth levels predict alcohol withdrawal severity among heavy drinkers seeking inpatient withdrawal management. Further research is warranted to better understand the utility of PEth testing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d6bc1eac20ca41de9226bd6d65df2f92 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-d6bc1eac20ca41de9226bd6d65df2f922025-08-20T03:25:40ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-06-011610.3389/fpsyt.2025.15676171567617Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal managementJeong Hoo Lee0Jeong Hoo Lee1Veronica Szpak2Lisa W. Vercollone3Peter R. Chai4Peter R. Chai5Charlotte E. Goldfine6Charlotte E. Goldfine7Samuel Maddams8Joji Suzuki9Joji Suzuki10Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, Boston, MA, United StatesHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Dunedin Hospital, Southern Health New Zealand, Dunedin, New ZealandHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United StatesHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United StatesHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United StatesIntroductionThis study aimed to determine if phosphatidylethanol (PEth) levels are associated with alcohol withdrawal severity among individuals seeking inpatient withdrawal management.MethodsA prospective study enrolled individuals undergoing alcohol withdrawal treatment at a ASAM level 4 inpatient unit. Primary outcome was the association between serum PEth levels with alcohol withdrawal medication requirements in diazepam equivalent (mg). Secondary objectives examined associations between PEth levels, Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA) scores, drinking history, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and Prediction of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scale (PAWSS) scores.ResultsThirty participants (mean age 48.7 years, SD 11.7; 67.7% white) reported average daily alcohol consumption of 14.2 drinks (SD 11.4, range 1.2-47.6) and percent heavy drinking days of 72% (SD 31.9, range 13.3-100). Nine (29%) reported history of withdrawal seizures and seven (22.6%) reported history of delirium tremens. Admission PEth (PO, ng/mL) levels (mean 934.9, SD 546.6; range 42 - 2000-) did not significantly associate with total medication requirements (r=0.05, p=0.78) or CIWA scores (r=0.09 to -0.14, p>0.05). PEth levels showed no significant correlations with AUDIT (r=0.17, p=0.35) or PAWSS scores (r=0.13, p=0.50). However, significant correlations were found between PEth levels and average drinks per day (r=0.54, p=0.002), as well as with the percentage of heavy drinking days (r=0.54, p=0.002).Discussion and conclusionsConsistent with prior reports, PEth levels appear to correlate with patients’ alcohol consumption including heavy drinking, but our results did not find that PEth levels predict alcohol withdrawal severity among heavy drinkers seeking inpatient withdrawal management. Further research is warranted to better understand the utility of PEth testing.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1567617/fullalcohol use disorderphosphatidylethanol (PEth)alcohol withdrawalwithdrawal severitydirect alcohol biomarkerbrief research report |
| spellingShingle | Jeong Hoo Lee Jeong Hoo Lee Veronica Szpak Lisa W. Vercollone Peter R. Chai Peter R. Chai Charlotte E. Goldfine Charlotte E. Goldfine Samuel Maddams Joji Suzuki Joji Suzuki Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management Frontiers in Psychiatry alcohol use disorder phosphatidylethanol (PEth) alcohol withdrawal withdrawal severity direct alcohol biomarker brief research report |
| title | Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management |
| title_full | Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management |
| title_fullStr | Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management |
| title_short | Phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management |
| title_sort | phosphatidylethanol levels and their association with withdrawal severity among individuals with severe alcohol use disorder seeking inpatient withdrawal management |
| topic | alcohol use disorder phosphatidylethanol (PEth) alcohol withdrawal withdrawal severity direct alcohol biomarker brief research report |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1567617/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeonghoolee phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT jeonghoolee phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT veronicaszpak phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT lisawvercollone phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT peterrchai phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT peterrchai phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT charlotteegoldfine phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT charlotteegoldfine phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT samuelmaddams phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT jojisuzuki phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement AT jojisuzuki phosphatidylethanollevelsandtheirassociationwithwithdrawalseverityamongindividualswithseverealcoholusedisorderseekinginpatientwithdrawalmanagement |