Peth test

Published

I’m looking to get in touch with nurses who have had false positive Peth tests.

I’m the victim of one in a similar situation for pilots. I’ve amassed a lot of info that may help.

Mike

Me too just came out positive. I am pouring alcohol over my hands as no ones business. Urine done 3 days ago was low creatinine and got a blood test which is positive. I don’t know what to do now!! I am so pissed, sad, upset, angry ? now what????

Up Vote Up Vote ×
57 minutes ago, tonijo said:

well just found out it does come out positive. I havent had alcohol in a couple years. and I'm lately constantly rubbing santitizer all over me. face, arms. my patients literally spit meds at me so I am always in it. grr

Does that mean you got a positive PEth?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ob.

yes

I havent done a thing wrong. not even nyquil for my cold/allergies. This is BS

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ob.

my boss stands behind me completely.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in RN.

Please keep us updated as I also had a false positive PEth

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Can you give us some details?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in RN.

I voluntarily tried to enter ipn after a second dui conviction. When I went for the eval I was only two months sober at the time but still long enough to pass a PEth. They said I tested positive at a 21 and the cutoff is 20. The evaluator accused me up and down of lying and having had a binge drinking episode within the past month prior to the eval. I paid $1,500 (While not working as a nurse mind you) and scheduled the eval voluntarily. Does it make any sense I would have drank knowing I was doing this? I would have just rescheduled the damn eval for a later date if I had slipped up or something like they accused me of. Now I’m wondering was it incidental exposure and what could it be? It wasn’t a ton of hand sanitizer.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hard to say. The length of time peth stays in your body varies between a 2 and 12 day half life according to a number of reports.

secondly, your actual value is very much a guess in reality. Was it dried blood spot or whole blood? While ETG is oftentimes “normalized” for creatinine values, peth is not for hematocrit values, which it should be.

so applying what we do know, and considering after over 10 years or more of reasonably mainstream peth testing we still don’t even apply that... consider what we obviously don’t know, PLD and phosphatadicholine variations, and general enzymatic process intraindividual differences, and other things.. without other supporting evidence, that test means nothing.

It is my belief there are LOTS of undocumented false positives. Even cases where someone did indeed drink, but a false positive emerged rather than an actual incriminating positive, making the test seem even better than originally thought. A dangerous situation, they never conceived it was capable of detecting very little drinking but now they think it can erroneously... arg

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in RN.

Thank you.... it was the dried spot test. Does isopropyl alcohol affect it at all? I am also always anemic. I’ve had blood transfusions in the past because of this.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Don’t really know. Being anemic sure sounds suspicious...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi MikeD, I'm a nurse. I got tested positive for urine and blood last year and has been in a limbo with the BON to get my license back. I have to go to a hearing in July but with the current Covid-19 situation I don't even know if that's on schedule or it'll be push back. It's been 8 months already. I was sick and have been taking Eastern medications, absolutely no drinking at all. I've been doing all sort of research about false positives but there has not been that many studies to refute the PETH tests. I don't know what you came up with in your research but I'm about to accept my fate.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Left you a private message

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion