The 61-year-old woman needed a liver transplant due to cirrhosis. But doctors were baffled when her urine repeatedly tested positive for alcohol despite her denying drinking. The case was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
Experts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (USA) discovered that the 61-year-old woman was telling the truth. She did not drink alcohol but suffered from a rare disease that led to abnormal alcohol levels. Accordingly, bacteria in the woman's bladder fermented glucose (sugar) into alcohol.
Doctors have cleared the woman who always tested positive for alcohol even though she did not drink alcohol. (Illustration: Coastaldetox)
The woman's condition resembles a rare disorder called "auto-brewery syndrome" (ABS), in which bacteria in the digestive tract convert carbohydrates into alcohol. The first cases of ABS were reported in Japan in 1970 and in the United States 10 years later.
Patients with ABS have alcohol in their blood or show symptoms of intoxication. According to Live Science, people with ABS can get drunk just from eating carbs (starch, sugar).
The woman, meanwhile, showed no symptoms as her bladder produced alcohol. Her condition is so rare that it doesn't even have a name. Doctors have suggested calling it "auto-brewery syndrome" or "bladder fermentation syndrome."
After doctors unsuccessfully tried to remove the yeast, the woman was diagnosed with urinary ABS, according to USA Today.
Kenichi Tamama, medical director of the Pittsburgh Medical Center Clinical Toxicology Laboratory, said he was glad his team worked hard to diagnose this patient correctly: “We were able to clear up the situation and that was helpful to her because the diagnosis of alcohol abuse is haunting.”
He hopes the discovery will bring awareness to the medical community and help patients with this rare condition who are considered to have an alcohol use disorder.
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