ethanol vs etg

Nurses Recovery

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I'm tested through labcorp in Georgia and option 1 says it includes Ethanol (alcohol). I ran all the different options and none say etg. So is ethanol, the etg test ?

Specializes in Impaired Nurse Advocate, CRNA, ER,.

Have you tried contacting labcorp and asking them your question?

Specializes in Med/Surg/Ortho, Oncology, PACU.

probably not. if it were ETG, it usually says so. I know the Oklahoma PEER does not do ETG. Just the alcohol that comes with the regular testing. The opted never to do ETG a few years back. This is because it is NOT recommended to be used as a substance abuse testing tool. At least by some mental health organization. Can't even remember where I read that. This is because it is too sensitive, it determines that someone drank a few days ago (which may not be violation of some agencies policies) and it can detect alcohol from contact with other sources (in extracts, hand sanitizers, hairspray, mouthwash, etc) and doesn't differentiate. Of course, that doesn't deter some IPN programs from utilizing it. However, it will usually SPECIFY etg.

This is interesting to me because I had the same question this week. I asked the guy at LabCorp about it.....if your labcorp testing is like mine (I am in Ohio) there is an option number that is selected for you when you test. When I only have to do option 1, that is the "healthcare provider" panel which includes all the following: (cut and pasted from LABCORP)

Adulteration (dilution) testing − creatinine, specific gravity, pH; amphetamines; barbiturates; benzodiazepines; cannabinoids (THC metabolite); cocaine (as benzoylecgonine); ethanol (alcohol); meperidine (Demerol®); methadone (Dolophine®); opiates (codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone); oxycodone (oxycodone, oxymorphone); phencyclidine (PCP); propoxyphene (Darvon®); tramadol

But, if you get option number 7, it is an additional ETG test. I don't use alcohol anyway, but I hate it when I get assigned number 7 instead of number one because it is $41 more per test :-( The guy at Labcorp said it is just a more reliable test for alcohol use as opposed to alcohol in handgels and beauty products. Hope this helps.

In NC, the cost for any test is $76. NCBON changed from Labcorp to Quest this year and the price went from $50 to $76. They are also "observed" now...meaning they actually watch the urine leave your body and hit the cup.

Your COC should say recoverytrek......and they DO test for ETG. Im pretty sure almost all nursing boards test for etg now and it WILL pick up a positive for 80 hours afterwars!!

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