title: Blood alcohol concentration measurement using a salivary reagent stick: a reliable tool for emergency departments?
abstract: Measurements of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) were made on patients who presented to an accident and emergency department with acute alcohol intoxication. A correlation of r = 0.418 was noted to exist between BAC as measured by sampling saliva and blood. Blood alcohol concentrations as measured by salivary reagent strip (ALCO-SCREEN, Chem Elec.) were significantly lower (p less than 0.0001) than those determined by gas chromatography of serum. Although such reagent strips offer a rapid measurement of BAC, it is concluded that they are unreliable for the quantitative measurement of BAC in accident and emergency departments.
authors.affiliation: Accident and Emergency Department, Leicester Royal Infirmary.
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Phair
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mardel
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bodiwala
mesh_terms: D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D011934:Reagent Strips; D012463:Saliva / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011934:Reagent Strips; D000431:Ethanol