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The Effects of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease on Forensic Breath Alcohol Testing
Author(s) -
Booker James L.,
Renfroe Kathryn
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12847
Subject(s) - alcohol , gerd , reflux , stomach , medicine , gastroenterology , esophagus , breath test , regurgitation (circulation) , blood alcohol , disease , chemistry , poison control , helicobacter pylori , medical emergency , injury prevention , biochemistry
Abstract Fifteen test subjects, 10 of whom were diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease ( GERD ), were dosed with alcohol to BAC s above 0.150 g/dL. Blood and breath assays taken at 20‐min intervals for 8 h after dosing demonstrated close agreement between postabsorptive BAC and Br AC values. Three subjects exhibited elevated breath alcohol concentrations up to 0.105 g/dL during the absorptive phase that were apparently due to the passage of gastric alcohol through the lower esophageal sphincter not attributable to eruction or regurgitation. The effect of gastric alcohol was not consistently proportional to the amount of unabsorbed gastric alcohol. Absorption of alcohol in the esophagus explains the nonproportionality. Breath samples contaminated by GERD ‐related alcohol leakage from the stomach into a breath sample were found only when there was a high concentration of alcohol in the stomach. When contaminated breath samples were encountered, they were irreproducible in magnitude.