BREATH ALCOHOL ANALYSIS AND THE BLOOD - BREATH RATIO

• NCJ Number: 29876
• Journal: Medicine, Science and the Law Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1975) Pages: 205-210
• Author(s): B M WRIGHT; T P JONES; A W JONES
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: John Wright and Sons, Ltd
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

THE HISTORY OF BREATH ALCOHOL ANALYSIS AND OF THE CONCEPT OF A BLOOD/BREATH RATIO IS BRIEFLY REVIEWED AND IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE RATIO IS ALWAYS LOWER AND MORE VARIABLE THAN PREDICTED BY ACCEPTED THEORY.

Abstract

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF 1970 EXPERIMENTS WHICH USED GAS LIQUID CHROMOTOGRAPHY TO RE-INVESTIGATE THE FACTORS GOVERNING THE BLOOD/BREATH RATIO IS PRESENTED. STUDY RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE BLOOD/BREATH RATIO FALLS DURING EXPIRATION AND ONLY REACHES ITS PRESENTLY ACCEPTED VALUE OF 2100 TO ONE, PREDICTED FROM 'IN VITRO' STUDIES AFTER PROLONGED REBREATHING. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THIS IS DUE TO ALCOHOL BEING ABSORBED FROM THE BREATH DURING EXPIRATION BY THE MUCOSA OF THE UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT, TO REPLACE THAT LOST DURING INSPIRATION. PROPOSALS ARE MADE FOR FURTHER STUDIES AND FOR MODIFICATIONS IN PRESENT BREATH SAMPLING PROCEDURES WHICH COULD MAKE BREATH ANALYSIS AN ACCEPTABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR BLOOD ANALYSIS IN ALL EXCEPT MARGINAL CASES. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)