Phosphatidylethanol Can Inform the Diagnosis of Steatotic Liver Disease

In patients with steatotic liver disease, distinguishing between metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) largely depends on accuracy of self-reported alcohol use. Phosphatidylethanol — a blood-based biomarker of recent alcohol use (within ≈1–4 weeks) — might help us make this distinction.

In two studies, researchers first tested the correspondence between phosphatidylethanol levels and self-reported alcohol intake and then assessed whether phosphatidylethanol measurement changed diagnoses. In both studies, patients with steatotic liver disease were categorized as having MASLD, ALD, or metabolic and alcohol-associated liver disease (MetALD; an intermediate category driven by a com…