Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin – Values after Exposition to Chemicals at Workplace

Up to now, the measurement of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) has been used in persons with a regular alcohol consumption of > 60 g/day, primarily due to aspects of insurance medicine, as its levels have an informative value even at 2 to 3 weeks after the discontinuation of consumption. Objective: There is scarce information in the literature concerning CDT levels in individuals who used chemicals, and therefore we think our cases deserve interest. Case Report: In the first case the measurement was performed at 1 month after the use of a nitro-based varnish, and the CDT value was elevated. In the other case the examination was performed in an agricultural worker who had used chemical weed-killers regularly but discontinued it 6 months before. He also had a very high CDT value. Conclusion: As both workers were documented abstainers, the CDT elevation might be due to the exposition to chemicals. The authors consider these high CDT values as markers of an injury caused by exposition to chemicals.