Laboratory Test Reference Guide

Laboratory Information

Test Name

Ethanol

Synonyms

Alcohol

External Price (excl. GST)

9.32

Specimen Collection

Adult Specimen

Heparin (light green), SST(gold), "T-" labs SST (gold)

Specimen Collection and Transport Protocols

Do not swab the venepuncture site with alcohol. This test is not accepted for medico-legal purposes.

Paediatric Specimen

0.2ml Heparin (light green) or Plain(red).

Test Information

Department

Biochemistry

Test Availability

Mon - Sun, 24hrs

Laboratory Turnaround Time

3 hrs

Method

Cobas Pro enzymatic. Rural Waikato Labs - Vitros XT7600 enzymatic

Unit of measurement

Reference interval

11 mmol/L = legal limit
 Habitual drinkers tolerate higher levels but in average patient:
    20 mmol/L = mildly intoxicated
    40 mmol/L = intoxicated
 > 60 mmol/L = comatosed

NB: In methanol poisoning - tentative therapeutic ETOH level * 20mmol/L.

Uncertainty of measurement

10%

Diagnostic Use Or Instructions

Among the compounds known to give positive interference with the assay, only n-Propanol and n-Butanol could give a result which would alter clinical interpretation.

Minimum Volume

0.1 mL heparin plasma or serum.

Electronic Information

Registration Code

ETOH

HL7 mapping code

$ETOH

LOINC Code

14719-9