What if a person admits to drinking heavily but %dCDT is not elevated?
There could be several explanations for this. Since %dCDT begins to “normalize” within a few days, if a person has not consumed alcohol for four days or more prior to testing, the %dCDT may have fallen sufficiently to read within the normal range. However, it is well known that a person can have a %dCDT within the normal range and still experience a 30% reduction if followed over time while maintaining abstinence. Also, not everyone is a %dCDT responder/elevator. That is why a good clinical history as well as the utilization of GGT may be useful.
