Are Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin Assays Useful for the Detection of Recurrent 'Binge Drinking' in Children with an Alcohol Intoxication in the Emergency Department?

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate different carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) assays for the detection of recurrent excessive alcohol abuse in adolescents prior to acute alcohol intoxication.

Methods: Data on drinking behaviour and CDT levels of adolescents (13-18 years) registered at the outpatient clinic for youth and alcohol at three major district general hospitals in the Netherlands were retrospectively collected. CDT and disialotransferrin (DST) levels of binge-drinking teenagers were compared with non-binge-drinking teenagers.

Results: In total 198 samples were collected for the N Latex CDT method (N = 83), no differences were found in mean CDT levels for binge versus non-binge drinkers (P = 0.8). The Helander HPLC (N = 78) showed significantly higher values for binge drinkers than for non-binge drinkers (mean 1.20%DST, SD 0.28 and mean 1.01%DST, SD 0.31, respectively (P = 0.01)). The Recipe ClinRep method (N = 37) also showed significantly higher values for binge drinkers (mean 1.17%DST, SD 0.36 and mean 0.89%DST, SD 0.34, respectively (P = 0.03)).

Conclusion: With the Helander HPLC method and the Recipe ClinRep assay higher levels are measured in binge drinkers than in non-binge drinkers.