EFFECT OF HYPOTHERMIA ON BREATH-ALCOHOL ANALYSIS
Mild hypothermia, induced by experimental immersion of ten subjects in cold water, distorted the decay curve of breath ethanol of intoxicated subjects by as much as 22% while not altering overall ethanol clearance rate. The results provide in vivo verification of the in vitro temperature correction factor of 6.8% deg C, and support previous recommendations that temperature monitoring be included in procedures for breath-ethanol testing. The authors recommend that mouth temperature be obtained before breath sampling to screen for abnormal body temperature and to allow for potential use of a temperature correction factor. This modification to existing analytical procedures would help to optimize the reliability of breath-ethanol analysis in predicting blood-ethanol concentration.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00221198
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Corporate Authors:
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700
West Conshohocken, PA United States 19428-2957 -
Authors:
- Fox, G R
- Hayward, J S
- Publication Date: 1987-3
Media Info
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: p. 320-325
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Serial:
- Journal of Forensic Sciences
- Volume: 32
- Issue Number: 2
- Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
- ISSN: 0022-1198
- EISSN: 1556-4029
- Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1556-4029
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Alcohol breath tests; Blood alcohol levels; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Human subject testing; Hypothermia; Intoxication; Reliability; Temperature; Values in measurement
- Uncontrolled Terms: Correction (Mathematics)
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00491824
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Report/Paper Numbers: HS-040 081
- Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: Mar 31 1990 12:00AM