scholarly journals Effect of alcohol swabbing of venepuncture site on blood alcohol estimation: A literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-39
Author(s):  
H.S Taiya ◽  
H.V Vaidya ◽  
A.A Tawara ◽  
Y.T Jadhav ◽  
A.L Bandgar
Keyword(s):  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Significant Extent ◽  
Alcohol Content ◽  
Legal Cases ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Common Information ◽  
Medical Graduates

Estimation of blood alcohol concentration is one of the very important investigations in medico-legal cases dealing with drink and driving, alcohol toxicity etc. There are many factors which may influence estimation of blood alcohol concentration of an individual. One of these factors is thought to be application of alcohol containing swab at venepuncture site, prior to collection of blood for alcohol estimation, either by gas chromatography or by enzymatic assay. Alcohol content of swab, either plain ethanol or iso-propyl alcohol, is said to influence blood alcohol estimation, to a significant extent, is a very common information rather misinformation given to all medical practitioners worldwide. Unfortunately, Courts of Law, in India also have to believe on this, and in many cases defence try to create benefit of doubt, using this information. It is commonly learnt and taught to Medical graduates, that while collecting blood samples from an individual for Blood Alcohol estimation, spirit swab should not be used for cleaning area of venepuncture. This is due to reason believed so far, that alcohol swabbing of venepuncture site can alter Blood Alcohol Estimation significantly. However there is no any study advocating this theory. Moreover review of literature pertaining to this subject has shown studies, which tend to prove that this concept is nothing but a myth and one has to be very particular to prove alteration in blood alcohol concentration due to alcohol swabbing of venepuncture site. Secondly, the literature and curricular statements in Forensic Medicine, which is written long back, needs exhaustive changes, and should be more evidence based.

The Beverage Alcohol Concentration at Intake and Estimated Blood Alcohol Concentrations

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Jussi Simpura ◽  
Pirjo Paakkanen ◽  
Heli Mustonen ◽  
Leena Metso ◽  
Kalervo Kiianmaa
Keyword(s):  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Alcohol Content ◽  
Drinking Habits ◽  
Actual Strength

Belief in differential health risks for different alcoholic beverages continues despite a relative lack of supporting evidence, and continues to influence alcohol policy debate both in Finland and elsewhere. The present data from a survey of Finnish drinking habits conducted in 1992 suggest that the central issue is not the actual strength of the beverage itself but rather the solution at intake and the amount of alcohol imbibed. The results are based on a one week survey of all occasions on which alcohol was consumed from a general population survey of drinking habits. Spirits are diluted almost two times out of three when spirits are taken. The data indicate that the median alcohol content of spirits at intake was about 13 percent of volume: i.e. on half of the occasions when spirits were imbibed, the actual alcohol content was not higher than that of unfortified wines. Beer and wine were rarely diluted, white spirits and rum were almost always diluted, whereas cognac and liqueurs were taken unmixed. The data also provide a basis for estimating the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reached on each drinking occasion. There was hardly any correlation between the BAC and the actual alcohol concentration of the beverages imbibed. More detailed analyses showed mixed results. Drinking to intoxication (estimated BAC < 20 mM) was more likely with those spirits that are typically diluted than those drunk straight, but a higher percentage of the spirit intake in general occurred on such intoxicating occasions than was reported for other beverages. Older respondents reported that the primary beverage used when drinking to intoxication was spirits, but younger ones said beer. The results are only for Finland, but show little basis here for the traditional tripartite (beer, wine, spirits) division of beverages in prevention of alcohol-related harm.

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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