Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review
Background: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy, even at low doses, may damage the fetus. Pregnant women tend to underreport their alcohol consumption generating the need for sensitive and specific biomarkers, among which PEth has emerged due to its high specificity and possibility to be measured i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Life |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/10/1528 |
| _version_ | 1797472033664139264 |
|---|---|
| author | Lisa Franceschetto Matteo Perilli Alessandro Cinquetti Chiara Giraudo Mario Gardi Giovanni Cecchetto Guido Viel |
| author_facet | Lisa Franceschetto Matteo Perilli Alessandro Cinquetti Chiara Giraudo Mario Gardi Giovanni Cecchetto Guido Viel |
| author_sort | Lisa Franceschetto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy, even at low doses, may damage the fetus. Pregnant women tend to underreport their alcohol consumption generating the need for sensitive and specific biomarkers, among which PEth has emerged due to its high specificity and possibility to be measured in both maternal and neonatal blood. The aim of this study is to systematically review the latest 20 years of literature for depicting the state of the art, the limitations, and the prospects of PEth for estimating alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Materials and methods: A systematic search, adhering to PRISMA guidelines, of the latest 20 years of literature through “MeSH” and “free-text” protocols in the databases PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, with time limits 1 January 2002–1 March 2022, was performed. The inclusion criteria were as follows: PEth used for detecting alcohol consumption during pregnancy, quantified in blood through liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and full texts in the English language. Opinion papers, editorials, and narrative reviews were excluded. Results: Sixteen (16) papers were included in the present review (0.81% of total retrieved records). All the included records were original articles, of which there were seven prospective cohort/longitudinal studies, six cross-sectional studies, two observational-descriptive studies, and one retrospective study. All studies assayed PEth in at least one biological matrix; seven (7) studies quantified PEth in maternal blood, seven studies in newborn blood, and only two studies in both maternal and neonatal blood. In several included papers, PEth proved more sensitive than self-reports for identifying pregnant women with an active alcohol intake with the diagnostic efficiency improving with the increase of the maternal alcohol intake. Conclusions: Further studies, performed on wider and well-stratified populations, are needed to drive any definitive conclusion. PEth is a promising marker for monitoring alcohol use in pregnancy; however, at the present time, its use is still limited mainly by the absence of a globally agreed interpretative cut-off, the paucity of data regarding its specificity/sensitivity, and the lack of standardization on the diagnostic efficiency of the different isoforms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:56:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e07e08f71ed84c16b037abdabc4cac6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:56:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Life |
| spelling | doaj.art-e07e08f71ed84c16b037abdabc4cac6b2023-11-24T00:56:20ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292022-09-011210152810.3390/life12101528Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic ReviewLisa Franceschetto0Matteo Perilli1Alessandro Cinquetti2Chiara Giraudo3Mario Gardi4Giovanni Cecchetto5Guido Viel6Legal Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Via G. Falloppio 50, 35121 Padova, ItalyLegal Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Via G. Falloppio 50, 35121 Padova, ItalyLegal Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Via G. Falloppio 50, 35121 Padova, ItalyUOSD Imaging Avanzato Clinico e Translazionale, Department of Medicine, University of Padova, 35127 Padova, ItalyUnit of Urology, Sant’Antonio Hospital, University Hospital of Padua, 35100 Padua, ItalyLegal Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Via G. Falloppio 50, 35121 Padova, ItalyLegal Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Via G. Falloppio 50, 35121 Padova, ItalyBackground: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy, even at low doses, may damage the fetus. Pregnant women tend to underreport their alcohol consumption generating the need for sensitive and specific biomarkers, among which PEth has emerged due to its high specificity and possibility to be measured in both maternal and neonatal blood. The aim of this study is to systematically review the latest 20 years of literature for depicting the state of the art, the limitations, and the prospects of PEth for estimating alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Materials and methods: A systematic search, adhering to PRISMA guidelines, of the latest 20 years of literature through “MeSH” and “free-text” protocols in the databases PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, with time limits 1 January 2002–1 March 2022, was performed. The inclusion criteria were as follows: PEth used for detecting alcohol consumption during pregnancy, quantified in blood through liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and full texts in the English language. Opinion papers, editorials, and narrative reviews were excluded. Results: Sixteen (16) papers were included in the present review (0.81% of total retrieved records). All the included records were original articles, of which there were seven prospective cohort/longitudinal studies, six cross-sectional studies, two observational-descriptive studies, and one retrospective study. All studies assayed PEth in at least one biological matrix; seven (7) studies quantified PEth in maternal blood, seven studies in newborn blood, and only two studies in both maternal and neonatal blood. In several included papers, PEth proved more sensitive than self-reports for identifying pregnant women with an active alcohol intake with the diagnostic efficiency improving with the increase of the maternal alcohol intake. Conclusions: Further studies, performed on wider and well-stratified populations, are needed to drive any definitive conclusion. PEth is a promising marker for monitoring alcohol use in pregnancy; however, at the present time, its use is still limited mainly by the absence of a globally agreed interpretative cut-off, the paucity of data regarding its specificity/sensitivity, and the lack of standardization on the diagnostic efficiency of the different isoforms.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/10/1528prenatal alcohol exposurepregnancyfetal alcohol spectrum disordersphosphatidylethanol (PEth) |
| spellingShingle | Lisa Franceschetto Matteo Perilli Alessandro Cinquetti Chiara Giraudo Mario Gardi Giovanni Cecchetto Guido Viel Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review Life prenatal alcohol exposure pregnancy fetal alcohol spectrum disorders phosphatidylethanol (PEth) |
| title | Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | phosphatidylethanol in maternal or neonatal blood to detect alcohol exposure during pregnancy a systematic review |
| topic | prenatal alcohol exposure pregnancy fetal alcohol spectrum disorders phosphatidylethanol (PEth) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/10/1528 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lisafranceschetto phosphatidylethanolinmaternalorneonatalbloodtodetectalcoholexposureduringpregnancyasystematicreview AT matteoperilli phosphatidylethanolinmaternalorneonatalbloodtodetectalcoholexposureduringpregnancyasystematicreview AT alessandrocinquetti phosphatidylethanolinmaternalorneonatalbloodtodetectalcoholexposureduringpregnancyasystematicreview AT chiaragiraudo phosphatidylethanolinmaternalorneonatalbloodtodetectalcoholexposureduringpregnancyasystematicreview AT mariogardi phosphatidylethanolinmaternalorneonatalbloodtodetectalcoholexposureduringpregnancyasystematicreview AT giovannicecchetto phosphatidylethanolinmaternalorneonatalbloodtodetectalcoholexposureduringpregnancyasystematicreview AT guidoviel phosphatidylethanolinmaternalorneonatalbloodtodetectalcoholexposureduringpregnancyasystematicreview |