Breath-alcohol concentration may not always reflect the concentration of alcohol in blood. 1994

D J Trafford, and H L Makin
Department of Chemical Pathology, London Hospital Medical College, U.K.

A case is described of a 37-year-old man who was breath tested by the U.K. police following a traffic accident and was found to have a breath-alcohol concentration of 70 micrograms/100 mL--twice the U.K. legal limit. The defendant protested vigorously that he had not consumed sufficient alcohol to account for this excessive reading, and Widmark calculations, assuming his account of the alcohol consumed was accurate, suggested his contention was possibly correct. No evidence was obtained suggesting that the Lion Intoximeter used for the breath analysis was anything other than accurate. Alcohol loading tests were therefore carried out in the laboratory on two separate occasions, showing that breath-alcohol concentrations grossly in excess of the legal limit (140 micrograms/100 mL) were obtained when the amount of alcohol administered would have been expected to give a theoretical maximum of 35 micrograms/100 mL. A blood sample taken at the point when the breath-alcohol concentration was 70 micrograms/100 mL was shown to contain 54 mg of alcohol/100 mL of blood. Dental examination of the defendant showed that he had had extensive work carried out, including three bridges. A possible explanation, therefore, for these anomalous results is that the excessive breath-alcohol concentrations might be due to mouth alcohol retained in the bridges or periodontal spaces, although a careful fraud by the subject of this report cannot be ruled out.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D001944 Breath Tests Any tests done on exhaled air. Breathalyzer Tests,Breath Test,Breathalyzer Test,Test, Breath,Test, Breathalyzer,Tests, Breath,Tests, Breathalyzer
D005189 False Positive Reactions Positive test results in subjects who do not possess the attribute for which the test is conducted. The labeling of healthy persons as diseased when screening in the detection of disease. (Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed) False Positive Reaction,Positive Reaction, False,Positive Reactions, False,Reaction, False Positive,Reactions, False Positive
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D000431 Ethanol A clear, colorless liquid rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and distributed throughout the body. It has bactericidal activity and is used often as a topical disinfectant. It is widely used as a solvent and preservative in pharmaceutical preparations as well as serving as the primary ingredient in ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. Alcohol, Ethyl,Absolute Alcohol,Grain Alcohol,Alcohol, Absolute,Alcohol, Grain,Ethyl Alcohol
D000435 Alcoholic Intoxication An acute brain syndrome which results from the excessive ingestion of ETHANOL or ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. Drunkenness,Intoxication, Alcoholic,Drunkennesses

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