This paper reports an investigation of the Quantitative Enzyme Diagnostic (QED) test for measuring saliva alcohol levels. It was conducted to establish three factors: (1) the relationship between QED saliva results and blood alcohol values measured by gas chromatography; (2) the relations between QED saliva results and breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) values (converted to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) values by multiplying by 2300); (3) the repeatability of results. In the first part of the study, male and female volunteers were asked to drink various amounts of beer, vodka and whisky to produce a range of alcohol (ethanol) values from 0 to 150mg per 100ml. In all cases, blood samples were taken at about the same time as saliva samples. In the second part of the study, a similar comparison was made of breath samples, measured by the Lion Intoximeter 3000, and saliva samples. In the third part, a simple repeatability test of QED results was made by one subject. It was found very clearly that QED values tend to be high compared with corresponding BAC and BrAC readings. However, the relationships are nearly linear, enabling the QED test to be used for preliminary roadside screening of motorists unable to take breath tests.
Samenvatting