Department of Clinical Chemistry, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.
Alcohol Alcohol. 2012 May-Jun;47(3):253-60. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/ags013. Epub 2012 Mar 5.
Carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) is a common diagnostic marker for detecting chronic alcohol abuse. For over 2.5 years, it has been used in traffic medicine among subjects applying for driver's license renewal or regranting in Belgium. We report on data collected during the program and provide an estimation of an applicable cut-off point in forensic situations. Using this cut-off, the success of the driver's license regranting program is evaluated.
CDT was assayed at Ghent University Hospital by capillary zone electrophoresis, measured on the Capillarys 2™ system, in 3977 subjects applying for driver's license regranting. Determination of a cut-off was done by using Bhattacharya statistics and by adding a measurement uncertainty interval. The outcome of the program was evaluated by monitoring CDT values for 163 subjects during one entire year.
In 3977 subjects (3481 males and 496 females), CDT values were significantly higher in men compared with women, but there is no need for a gender-specific cut-off value. Drunk drivers under the age of 30 have significantly lower CDT values than older subjects, and a separate cut-off could be calculated. A general cut-off of 2.3% CDT was calculated for the entire study population. Using this cut-off value for evaluating the outcome of the program for 163 subjects, the percentage offenders at the beginning (29%) decreased to 8% after 1 year.
Applying a marker for chronic alcohol abuse such as CDT for driver's license renewal or regranting is a powerful tool. Analysis of data collected over 2.5 years reveals a favorable outcome of the program and a useful cut-off point could be determined.
糖缺失转铁蛋白（CDT）是一种常见的诊断标志物，用于检测慢性酒精滥用。在过去的 2.5 年中，它一直被用于比利时申请更新或重新发放驾驶执照的受试者的交通医学中。我们报告了在该项目中收集的数据，并提供了在法医情况下适用的截断值估计。使用该截断值，评估了驾驶执照重新发放计划的成功。
在根特大学医院，通过毛细管区带电泳法（毛细管电泳法）在 3977 名申请重新发放驾驶执照的受试者中测定 CDT。使用 Bhattacharya 统计法和添加测量不确定度区间来确定截断值。通过监测 163 名受试者在整整一年的时间内的 CDT 值来评估该计划的结果。
在 3977 名受试者（3481 名男性和 496 名女性）中，男性的 CDT 值明显高于女性，但不需要性别特异性截断值。30 岁以下的醉酒驾驶者的 CDT 值明显低于年龄较大的受试者，可以计算出单独的截断值。为整个研究人群计算了一个通用的截断值 2.3% CDT。使用该截断值评估 163 名受试者计划的结果，开始时的违规者比例（29%）在 1 年后降至 8%。
应用 CDT 等慢性酒精滥用标志物来更新或重新发放驾驶执照是一种强有力的工具。对过去 2.5 年收集的数据进行分析表明，该计划的结果良好，可以确定一个有用的截断值。
