Does warm weather during shipment cause a more rapid breakdown of EtG in urine?
Maybe, but it’s not clear. Recent experiments show that heating urine to 100 C (boiling point of H2O) actually increased the stability of EtG. The data are showing that at room temperature, in some individuals with nitrites and/or blood in urine, that EtG can deteriorate over a week. We are surmising that esterases associated with infection may be causing breakdown of EtG. Heating seems to prevent breakdown, possibly due to neutralizing the bacteria. So, the fact is that heat doesn’t cause breakdown of EtG, it actually increases stability. It is possible, however, that bacteria would grow more rapidly in warmer weather (closer to body temperature) and it has been shown now that bacteria can breakdown EtG (but not EtS).
