STUDY OBJECTIVES Partial sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption are a common combination, particularly among young drivers. We hypothesized that while low blood alcohol concentration (<0.05 g/dL) may not significantly increase crash risk, the combination of partial sleep deprivation and low blood alcohol concentration would cause significant performance impairment. DESIGN Experimental SE...

There is substantial agreement among scientists that the variability of a person's blood- to breath-alcohol ratio contributes significantly to the experimental error in results from breath-alcohol analysis. Some have argued that the need to correct for this source of error can be eliminated by reporting breath test results in units of breath-alcohol concentration rather than blood-alcohol conce...

The relationship between normal body temperature, end-expired breath temperature, and blood alcohol concentration (BAC)/breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) ratio was studied in 98 subjects (84 men, 14 women). Subjects consumed alcohol sufficient to produce a BrAC of at least 0.06 g/210 L 45-75 min after drinking. Breath samples were analyzed using an Intoxilyzer 8000 specially equipped to measu...

and Executive Suaaary of "Effects of Low Doses of Alcohol on Driving-Related Skills: A Review of the Evidence" The report "Effects of Low Doses of Alcohol on Driving-Related Skills: A Review of the Evidence" was presented to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in March 1987. A copy of the complete document can be obtained through the National Technical Information Service, Spring...

OBJECTIVE Stability of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in laboratory samples is of great importance when it is necessary to perform repeated analyses. MATERIALS AND METHODS We have analyzed the stability of BAC in 50 samples, which were taken from apprehended drivers, kept at -18ºC, without preserving agents. Quantitative analyses were performed using headspace sampling gas chromatography (...

Background The best way to assess the sobriety of a person is, of course, the direct analysis of blood sample collected at time of crime. But it is very often, that the driver that perpetrated the accident, escaped from the place of crime and the alcohol analysis is performed on blood samples taken several hours after he or she was involved in a motor vehicle accident or in some form of crime. ...

The Paddington Alcohol Test (PAT) has evolved over 15 years as a clinical tool to facilitate emergency physicians and nurses giving brief advice and the offer of an appointment for brief intervention by an alcohol nurse specialist. Previous work has shown that unscheduled emergency department re-attendance is reduced by 'making the connection' between alcohol misuse and resultant problems neces...

Alcohol misuse is a common presentation to the Emergency Department (ED). The International Classification of Diseases ICD-10 for alcohol misuse, both under F10 and Y90/Y91, is not straightforward. The practicalities of coding ED attendances reveal an increasing detachment from ICD-10 (currently under review). Early identification [sometimes using blood alcohol concentrations (BACs)] and brief ...