NCJ Number
128903
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1991) Pages: 376-385
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Healthy men, 20 to 60 years, drank a moderate dose of ethanol in the morning after an overnight fast. They consumed neat whisky in amounts corresponding to 0.34, 0.51, 0.85, or 1.02 g of ethanol per kilogram of body weight or 0.80 g/kg ethanol solvent diluted with orange juice.
Abstract
The peak blood-ethanol concentration (BEC) increased with the dose administered, but the time required to reach the peak was not markedly influenced over the range of doses studied. At a dose of 0.68 g/kg, the peak BEC ranged from 52 to 136 mg/dL (N=83), and slow absorption (a late-occurring peak) produced a lower peak BEC. The peak BEC was reached between 0 and 45 minutes for 77 percent of the subjects (N=152) and between 0 and 75 minutes for 97 percent of them. The time of peaking in venous blood was not appreciably different; the mean venous BEC was 97.0 mg/dL (range, 76 to 112 mg/dL), and the mea capillary BEC was 99.6 mg/dL (range 75 to 123 mg/dL). When subjects drank 0.80 g/kg ethanol diluted with orange juice over 30 minutes, the average BEC increment between the end of drinking and the peak was 33 mg/dL (range, 0 to 58 mg/dL). The rate of absorption of ethanol was 1.78 mg/dL/min (range, 0.52 to 4.8 mg/dL/min), and the peak BEC occurred within 60 minutes after the end of drinking in 92 percent of the trials. The largest BEC increment (mean, 21 mg/dL; range, 0 to 44 mg/dL) was seen during the first 15 minutes after the drinking period. 3 tables, 4 figures, and 29 references (Author abstract)