Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG), Urine
A by-product of alcohol that stays in urine for a day or more after drinking, long after the alcohol itself has left the blood.
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewAlso called EtG, uEtGLOINC 58378-1
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What it is
When you drink alcohol, the body turns a small part of it into ethyl glucuronide (EtG). EtG leaves in the urine and can be measured for roughly one to three days after drinking. Labs use it to check for recent alcohol use, often in treatment or monitoring programs.
Why it matters
EtG looks back further than a blood alcohol test. It can show that alcohol was taken in over the past few days, but it cannot show how much or exactly when. ARUP notes results do not accurately match the amount or frequency of drinking. Tiny amounts from non-drink sources can also give low results, so low positives are read with care.
If it’s high
A higher result means more EtG was in the urine. Higher levels are more common soon after drinking, especially heavier drinking, but the number cannot tell how much was drunk, and it also depends on how dilute the urine is. Low positives can also come from alcohol in everyday products.
Common causes
- Alcohol drunk in the past few days
- Alcohol in everyday products such as hand sanitizer or mouthwash (usually low levels)
- Microbes in the urine sample, for example with a urinary tract infection, which can occasionally form EtG on their own
What can help
- Ask the program or clinician which cutoff is used and whether alcohol-containing products could affect your result
- If you are worried about your drinking, ask your clinician about support options
Usual ranges
What labs print as the reference range, by who was tested. Ranges differ a little between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against.
For adults: up to 100 ng/mL. Source: ARUP Laboratories, Addictive Behaviors Reports.
- Adults (this one applies)up to 100 ng/mL
Sources: ARUP Laboratories, Addictive Behaviors Reports
What can affect your result
- How much was drunk and how long ago (EtG can be found for up to about 80 hours)
- Urine dilution
- Alcohol in everyday products such as hand sanitizer and mouthwash
- Microbes in the sample or a urinary tract infection
- The test method and its cutoff (screening immunoassay or LC-MS/MS)
- Alcohol in everyday products such as hand sanitizer and mouthwash can cause low positive results.
- Microbes in a urine sample (for example with a urinary tract infection) can form EtG, which can cause a false positive.
- Bacteria can also break EtG down, which can cause a false negative.
- Very dilute urine can lower the measured level.
Any time. A random urine sample is used. Reflects alcohol use over roughly the previous 1-3 days. ARUP reports EtG and ethyl sulfate can be detected up to 80 hours after drinking.
When to talk to a clinician
A urine EtG result alone is not an emergency. Talk with a clinician if a result surprises you or if you are worried about your drinking. Stopping heavy drinking suddenly can cause withdrawal, so ask a clinician for support before stopping on your own.
Questions you could ask
- What is this test being used for, and how will the result be used?
- What cutoff does this lab use, and what does a result at this level suggest in my situation?
- Could products I use, such as hand sanitizer, mouthwash or medicines, have played a part?
- Would a repeat or confirmation test, or an ethyl sulfate test, help?
Questions people ask
Can hand sanitizer or mouthwash cause a positive?
They can cause low positive results. That is one reason programs often use a cutoff such as 500 ng/mL, and why very low positives are interpreted carefully.
How long after a drink can EtG be found?
ARUP says EtG and EtS can be detected up to 80 hours (about 3 days) after drinking. How long it shows up depends on how much was drunk and on the cutoff the test uses.
Does the number tell me how much I drank?
No. ARUP notes that EtG results do not accurately match the amount or frequency of alcohol use. The number also depends on how dilute the urine is.
Show the science and sources
Units
- 1 ng/mL = 1 ng/mL
- 1 ng/mL = 0.001 mg/L
- 1 ng/mL = 4.501 nmol/L
Open the EtG (Urine) unit converter
For clinicians and researchers
EtG and ethyl sulfate (EtS) are minor non-oxidative metabolites of ethanol that are excreted in urine. ARUP reports both can be detected up to 80 hours after ingestion, that false-positive EtG results can come from microbial formation or fermentation, and that false-negative results can come from bacterial degradation. ARUP's quantitative LC-MS/MS test has a measuring range of 100-10,000 ng/mL, and its screening immunoassay uses a 500 ng/mL cutoff. Grodin et al. (2020) describe a 500 ng/mL cutoff as a conservative choice that excludes most incidental exposure, while lower cutoffs of 100-200 ng/mL appear to predict heavy drinking better. In their study of heavy drinkers, a 500 ng/mL test strip detected drinking in the past day acceptably but detected drinking over the past three days poorly. Results are medical information, not a forensic determination, and urine concentration is not corrected for dilution unless creatinine is also reported.
LOINC 58378-1 (primary), 45324-1, 110503-0. Specimen: urine.
Sources
- Ethyl Glucuronide and Ethyl Sulfate, Urine, Quantitative (test 2007909), ARUP Laboratories
- Ethyl Glucuronide Screen with Reflex to Confirmation, Urine (test 2007912), ARUP Laboratories
- Sensitivity and specificity of a commercial urinary ethyl glucuronide (ETG) test in heavy drinkers, Addictive Behaviors Reports (2020)
- Ethyl glucuronide (PubChem CID 18392195), PubChem (National Library of Medicine)
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. How we build and check these pages.