DOES CARBOHYDRATE-DEFICIENT TRANSFERRIN PREDICT THE SEVERITY OF ALCOHOL-WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME

Alcohol withdrawal often causes severe complications. However, many ad dicts deny any abuse. Thus, the diagnosis of alcohol abuse frequently becomes difficult. Laboratory parameters are often used to support the diagnosis of alcohol abuse. Furthermore, laboratory parameters should facilitate the prediction of the severity of alcohol withdrawal syndr ome (AWS). The most promising laboratory parameter indicating a recent elevated alcohol consumption is carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (C DT). The aim of this study was to examine whether the measurement of C DT at admission can indicate a higher risk for the development of a co mplicated AWS. The severity of AWS was assessed by the AWS scale, cons isting of two subscales for somatic and mental symptoms. CDT was measu red by different methods (radioimmunoassay and HPLC). The radioimmunoa ssay for CDT (CDTect) yielded the best prediction. Our results showed a weak correlation between CDTect and the severity of AWS. However, th ere were great gender differences. In men, CDTect had the highest posi tive predictive value for a severe AWS (86.7%), whereas in women mean corpuscular volume was the best predictor (77.8%). However, the sensit ivity of ODTect in men (25.5%), as well as mean corpuscular volume in females (29.2%), was too low for a screening test in a general hospita l.