Blood Alcohol and Impairment of Judgment

1978 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.E.F. Pohl
Keyword(s):  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Main Peak ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Cerebral Function ◽  
Depressant Effect ◽  
Time Curve ◽  
Individual Subject ◽  
Test Form

1. The cerebral depressant effect of 30 ml of aqueous ethanol diluted to 25% and administered orally to 16 volunteer subjects was compared with a control group of 15 volunteer subjects. 2. The two parallel forms of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal tests were employed as a measure of cerebral function. 3. The control group showed a small but statistically insignificant improvement on retesting with Watson-Glaser test form ZM after preliminary administration of form YM. 4. The relationship between the blood alcohol time curve and the alcohol effect was analysed for each individual subject, each subject being used as his own control. 5. The main peak cerebral depressant effect was substantial and occurred on average 25.5 min before the attainment of the peak blood alcohol concentration. 6. There was no significant correlation between blood alcohol concentration and contemporaneous cerebral impairment (r = −0.01). 7. There was a highly significant correlation (r = 0.60) between the effect upon cerebral function and the gradient of the blood alcohol curve at that time.

Ethanol-induced symptoms in patients receiving gemcitabine diluted from a concentrate for solution for infusion containing ethanol

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 511-516
Author(s):  
Raúl Diez-Fernández ◽  
Rocío Vázquez-Sánchez ◽  
Laura López-Esteban ◽  
Santos Enrech-Frances ◽  
Ana María Sánchez-Peña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ethanol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Impaired Balance ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Symptoms And Signs

Purpose Ethanol as an excipient is used to enhance the solubility of gemcitabine, but, sometimes, the dose of ethanol a patient may be given is much higher than the dose considered to be toxic. We aimed to assess ethanol-related symptoms and signs in patients receiving two formulations of gemcitabine, with and without ethanol. Methods A randomized double blind cross-over study was conducted. All patients being treated with gemcitabine received two consecutive doses of the drug, one diluted from a concentrate for solution for infusion (CSI) containing ethanol and the other from a lyophilized powder, without ethanol, which was used as control group. After each administration, patients were surveyed in order to assess the appearance of any alcohol consumption symptoms (dizziness, difficulty speaking, unsteady walking, impaired balance, mood swings and slower reactions). Widmark formula and the amount of alcohol measured on the breath (breathalyzer) were used to estimate blood alcohol concentration. Results Twenty-four patients received both formulations and were included in the analysis. Mean administered ethanol dose when prepared from CSI was 15.81 ± 2.25 g (mean ± SD). When using CSI gemcitabine, estimated blood ethanol concentration was 0.033 g/dl according to Widmark formula and 0.02 g/dl according to breathalyzer results. Although overall incidence of symptoms was higher in the study group, the difference was not statistically significant (33% vs. 25%; p = 0.53). Conclusions These findings prove there is no difference in the onset of ethanol related symptoms when using CSI instead of lyophilized powder on the reconstitution of gemcitabine.

Auto-brewery syndrome: Ethanol pseudo-toxicity in diabetic and hepatic patients

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 445-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
EM Hafez ◽  
MA Hamad ◽  
M Fouad ◽  
A Abdel-Lateff
Keyword(s):  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Alcohol Intoxication ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Carbohydrate Ingestion ◽  
Headspace Gas

Endogenous alcohol has been applied for spontaneous ethanol production via different metabolic pathways of the human body. Auto-brewery syndrome describes the patients with alcohol intoxication after ingesting carbohydrate-rich meals. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of diabetes mellitus (DM), liver cirrhosis (LC) and presence of both (DM and LC) on blood alcohol concentration (BAC) especially after carbohydrate ingestion. BAC has been measured by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in three groups of humans namely control, DM, LC and both (DM and LC) groups. The results showed that BAC in control group was 0.01–.3 mg/dL with mean 0.3 ± 0.41 mg/dL. In patients with DM, BAC is significantly higher than that of control group 4.85 ± 3.96 mg/dL. In patients with LC, BAC was 3.45 ± 2.65 mg/dL. In patients with both DM and LC, BAC increases to reach 10.88 ± 5.36 mg/dL. Endogenous ethanol production appears to increase in DM and LC. Also, it increased much more in patients with both diseases, but it did not reach toxic levels. On comparing BAC and blood glucose level in each group, all groups show insignificant correlations ( p > 0.05).

The Importance of Alcohol Testing by Gas Chromatography vs the Cordebard Classical Method Modified in the Medico Legal Investigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 2407-2410
Author(s):  
Dan Perju Dumbrava ◽  
Carmen Corina Radu ◽  
Sofia David ◽  
Tatiana Iov ◽  
Catalin Jan Iov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Chromatographic Method ◽  
Classical Method ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
Gas Chromatographic Method ◽  
Alcohol Testing ◽  
Living Person

Considering the growing number of requests from the criminal investigations authorities addressed to the institutions of legal medicine, testing of blood alcohol concentration both in the living person and in the corpse, we believe that a presentation of the two methods which are used in our country, is a topic of interest at present. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with the technical details on how blodd alcohol concentration is realised by means of the gas chromatographic method and the classical one, (Cordebard modified by D. Banciu and I. Droc) respectively. Another purpose of this article is to also show, in a comparative way, the elements that make the gas chromatographic method superior to the former one.

A Driving Simulator Study of the Performance Effects of Low Blood Alcohol Concentration

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (18) ◽  
pp. 943-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wade Allen ◽  
Zareh Parseghian ◽  
Anthony C. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Divided Attention ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Driving Task ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
And Performance

There is a large body of research that documents the impairing effect of alcohol on driving behavior and performance. Some of the most significant alcohol influence seems to occur in divided attention situations when the driver must simultaneously attend to several aspects of the driving task. This paper describes a driving simulator study of the effect of a low alcohol dose, .055 BAC (blood alcohol concentration %/wt), on divided attention performance. The simulation was mechanized on a PC and presented visual and auditory feedback in a truck cab surround. Subjects were required to control speed and steering on a rural two lane road while attending to a peripheral secondary task. The subject population was composed of 33 heavy equipment operators who were tested during both placebo and drinking sessions. Multivariate Analysis of Variance showed a significant and practical alcohol effect on a range of variables in the divided attention driving task.

4. Are a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 256mg/dl and Minimal Signs of Impairment Reliable Indications of Alcohol Dependence?

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
A W Jones
Keyword(s):  
Expert Witness ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Drunk Driving ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Driving Under The Influence ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Lower Court ◽  
Dna Profile ◽  
Court Of Appeals ◽  
Driving Scenario

This article describes a drink-driving scenario where a woman was apprehended for driving under the influence (DUI) with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 256mg/dl1 The correctness of this result was vigorously challenged by a medical expert witness for the defence, who was actually a specialist in alcohol diseases. Despite reanalysis to confirm the BAC as well as a DNA profile to prove the identity of the blood specimen, the woman was acquitted of the charge of drunk driving by the lower court. However, she was subsequently found guilty in the High Court of Appeals with a unanimous decision and sentenced to four weeks imprisonment. This case report illustrates some of the problems surrounding the use of expert medical evidence by the defence to challenge the validity of the prosecution evidence based solely on a suspect's BAC. In situations such as these, an expert witness should be called by the prosecution to clarify and, if necessary, rebut medical and/or scientific opinions that might mislead the court and influence the outcome of the trial.

A Review of Alcohol-Impaired Driving: The Role of Blood Alcohol Concentration and Complexity of the Driving Task

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 1238-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teri L. Martin ◽  
Patricia A. M. Solbeck ◽  
Daryl J. Mayers ◽  
Robert M. Langille ◽  
Yvona Buczek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Impaired Driving ◽  
Alcohol Impaired Driving ◽  
Driving Task

scholarly journals Drinking behaviours and blood alcohol concentration in four European drinking environments: a cross-sectional study

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Hughes ◽  
Zara Quigg ◽  
Mark A Bellis ◽  
Ninette van Hasselt ◽  
Amador Calafat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

Validation of the Alco-Calculator

1975 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 977-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. Compton ◽  
Roger E. Vogler
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Blood Alcohol Levels

The Alco-calculator was validated by comparing its blood alcohol estimates with actual breath samples (N = 48). The Alco-calculator overestimated the blood alcohol concentration by 20 mg % and showed an accuracy confidence interval of ± 26 mg.% ( p = .95) The utility of the calculator for training in discrimination of blood alcohol levels is discussed.

scholarly journals Moderate and severe traumatic brain injury: effect of blood alcohol concentration on Glasgow Coma Scale score and relation to computed tomography findings

2015 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Petter Rundhaug ◽  
Kent Gøran Moen ◽  
Toril Skandsen ◽  
Kari Schirmer-Mikalsen ◽  
Stine B. Lund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Severe Tbi ◽  
Gcs Score ◽  
Dose Dependent

OBJECT The influence of alcohol is assumed to reduce consciousness in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but research findings are divergent. The aim of this investigation was to study the effects of different levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores in patients with moderate and severe TBI and to relate the findings to brain injury severity based on the admission CT scan. METHODS In this cohort study, 265 patients (age range 16–70 years) who were admitted to St. Olavs University Hospital with moderate and severe TBI during a 7-year period were prospectively registered. Of these, 217 patients (82%) had measured BAC. Effects of 4 BAC groups on GCS score were examined with ordinal logistic regression analyses, and the GCS scores were inverted to give an OR > 1. The Rotterdam CT score based on admission CT scan was used to adjust for brain injury severity (best score 1 and worst score 6) by stratifying patients into 2 brain injury severity groups (Rotterdam CT scores of 1–3 and 4–6). RESULTS Of all patients with measured BAC, 91% had intracranial CT findings and 43% had BAC > 0 mg/dl. The median GCS score was lower in the alcohol-positive patients (6.5, interquartile range [IQR] 4–10) than in the alcohol-negative patients (9, IQR 6–13; p < 0.01). No significant differences were found between alcohol-positive and alcohol-negative patients regarding other injury severity variables. Increasing BAC was a significant predictor of lower GCS score in a dose-dependent manner in age-adjusted analyses, with OR 2.7 (range 1.4–5.0) and 3.2 (range 1.5–6.9) for the 2 highest BAC groups (p < 0.01). Subgroup analyses showed an increasing effect of BAC group on GCS scores in patients with Rotterdam CT scores of 1–3: OR 3.1 (range 1.4–6.6) and 6.7 (range 2.7–16.7) for the 2 highest BAC groups (p < 0.01). No such relationship was found in patients with Rotterdam CT scores of 4–6 (p = 0.14–0.75). CONCLUSIONS Influence of alcohol significantly reduced the GCS score in a dose-dependent manner in patients with moderate and severe TBI and with Rotterdam CT scores of 1–3. In patients with Rotterdam CT scores of 4–6, and therefore more CT findings indicating increased intracranial pressure, the brain injury itself seemed to overrun the depressing effect of the alcohol on the CNS. This finding is in agreement with the assumption of many clinicians in the emergency situation.

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