Test eludes me. If I drank 3 sips of alcohol (2 sips of beer, 1 sip of scotch) Saturday night, this would not show up in an ETG (500 ng)test taken Monday afternoon? I would assume it wouldn't but if there is no alcohol in my system it wouldn't store it and then somehow show up? I understand the test is very sensitive and I am not trying to beat it, I just would like to learn about it. Thank you very much.

EtG does not store in your system (1). It is a direct byproduct of alcohol metabolism (metabolite). Therefore it is created in proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed.

Somewhere between 3-5 hours after drinking the EtG reaches peak levels and then declines through elimination. See page 597, Figure 4 (http://www.burlingtonlabs.com/documents/ETGPublicationJATvol322008_000.pdf) for a graphic illustration (2) comparing both alcohol and EtG.

EtG is detectable for a longer period than alcohol. As example one standard drink (13.g pa) can be detected in urine for approx one hour while the EtG can be detected for 10-20 hours. More alcohol creates more EtG which in turn requires longer periods for elimination. Smaller amounts require lesser time and when dealing with very small amounts, a sip or two, the EtG may never rise above the cutoff level of the test.(3) This would be particularly true of the 500 cutoff.

Besides the Thierauf study (using 1 and 3 g) Musshoff also studied the small amounts of alcohol in food and drinks for EtG detection with the same conclusion, all cleared in under 20 hours (4) generally substanially less time.

Ref:

1) Sarkola, 2003 (http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/4/347.full)
2) Rosano & Lin, 2008 (http://www.burlingtonlabs.com/documents/ETGPublicationJATvol322008_000.pdf)
3) Thierauf, 2009 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19922567)
4) Musshoff, 2010 (http://www.burlingtonlabs.com/documents/ETGPublicationJATvol322008_000.pdf)

I challenge you on the fact you are not trying to beat it, of course you are, You have to take a test because of either probation, or family court for some legal reason. You are not suppose to be drinking most likely at all. So you are breaking a law or rule in doing so. You merely do not want to be caught and pay the price for your choices.

Thank you Dr. Bill, so the more alcohol consumed the longer it takes to get out of your system. That being said, what is the longest amount of time the alcohol is detectable in the test? The 80 hours? So drinking a few drinks (as in 2-4 a day) over a period of two days would not be detectable after 80 hours? I do have to take ua's which include an EtG test. I am not an alcoholic or a bad person but do occasionally like to have a glass of wine or two at home when able. I am not trying to beat any system, I just wanted to enjoy a glass of wine. Thank you for your continued help and patience with this matter. It is very much appreciated.

I did pass my test thank you very much.