Protocol - Alcohol Breathalyzer

Description

The purpose of this protocol is to measure the concentration of alcohol (ethanol) in the participant’s breath. After 20 minutes of observation, the participant blows steadily into a device called a breathalyzer used to measure the breath alcohol concentration. The result is measured in grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath, which is used as a proxy for blood alcohol concentration (BAC). A person’s BAC is equivalent to the percent by weight of alcohol in a person’s blood based upon grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

Specific Instructions

U.S. law enforcement agencies utilize breathalyzers to quickly and accurately measure BAC for sobriety tests. Some of the most common law enforcement breathalyzers use infrared spectrometry technology. Some models provide results to different numbers of decimal places, which may affect how data are combined across studies. The Working Group does not recommend a particular breathalyzer manufacturer or device but does suggest that a breathalyzer be chosen that is commonly used for field sobriety tests and that the breathalyzer measures the percent BAC to one hundredths.

The participant may have residual alcohol in the mouth which would cause a much higher BAC. This factor is minimized by observing the participant for 20 minutes and ensuring that he/she has not belched, burped, regurgitated, or taken a drink.

The Substance Abuse and Addiction Working Group acknowledges that the following questions may gather sensitive information relating to the use of substances and/or illegal conduct. If the information is released, it might be damaging to an individual’s employability, lead to social stigmatization, or lead to other consequences.

Most researchers assure confidentiality as part of their informed consent process, as required by their institutional review boards. When assessing minors with these questions, it may be necessary to obtain informed consent from a parent of the adolescent. Further assurance of confidentiality may be obtained by applying to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a Certificate of Confidentiality, which helps researchers protect the privacy of human research participants. The procedures for the Certificate of Confidentiality can be found at the Grants Policy website of the NIH: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/policy/coc/index.htm.

Availability

Available

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Protocol

Follow the breathalyzer manufacturer’s instructions.

Explain to the participant that you are about to obtain his/her blood alcohol reading with a breathalyzer device. Also explain that you need to observe him/her for 20 minutes before the test and that he/she should not drink anything including water during that time.

Document the time that the observation began. __ __: __ __ am/pm

Prepare the breathalyzer device. Attach a new mouthpiece to the device. Some devices require calibration or a preliminary test; if so, record the results.

Document the time the observation ended. __ __: __ __ am/pm

(Ask participant) Have you belched, burped, regurgitated, or taken a drink of anything in the past 20 minutes?

1 [ ] Yes - Observe for another 20 minutes.

2 [ ] No - Proceed with breath test.

Ask participant to blow steadily into the breathalyzer.

Do not record this result. Wait 2 minutes.

(Ask participant) Have you belched, burped, regurgitated, or taken a drink of anything in the past 2 minutes?

1 [ ] Yes - Observe for another 20 minutes.

2 [ ] No - Proceed with breath test.

Ask participant to blow steadily into the breathalyzer a second time.

Record this result. 0. _ _ grams per 210 liters of breath.

(If necessary, conduct a third test after waiting 2 minutes and ask the question above.)

Interpretation of Results

A person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is related to a number of factors including the quantity of alcohol consumed, rate of consumption, gender, weight, and prior ingestion of food (Hingson et al., 1999; see Figure 1, p. 32). All states in the United States have adopted 0.08% (80 mg/dl) as the legal BAC limit for operating a motor vehicle for drivers aged 21 years or older (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). However, drivers younger than 21 are not allowed to operate a motor vehicle with any level of alcohol in their system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) approves "evidential breath testing devices" (EBTs) with reliable results of 0.02% or greater. Although many breathalyzers measure BACs below 0.02% it is considered the lowest positive value. Note: Legal limits do not define a level below which it is safe to operate a vehicle or engage in some other activity. Impairment due to alcohol use can occur at levels well below the legal limit, starting at 0.01% (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1994), and the level of impairment is positively related to BAC level.

Personnel and Training Required

Use of a breathalyzer requires training on how to administer the device and maintenance and calibration.

Equipment Needs

Commonly used breathalyzer for field sobriety tests, preferably a breathalyzer that measures alcohol via infrared spectrometry

Additional mouthpieces

Maintenance and calibration log

Requirements

Requirement Category	Required
Major equipment	No
Specialized training	No
Specialized requirements for biospecimen collection	No
Average time of greater than 15 minutes in an unaffected individual	No

Mode of Administration

Bioassay

Lifestage

Adolescent, Adult, Senior

Participants

Adolescents and adults aged 13 years and older

Selection Rationale

A breathalyzer is used by law enforcement officers throughout the United States for field sobriety tests. If used correctly, it is an accurate method to quantify the concentration of alcohol in the breath and serves as a proxy for blood alcohol concentration.

Language

English

Standards

Standard	Name	ID	Source
Human Phenotype Ontology	Alcoholism	HP:0030955	HPO
caDSR Form	PhenX PX510501 - Alcohol Breathalyzer	6208697	caDSR Form

Derived Variables

None

Process and Review

The Expert Review Panel #3 (ERP 3) reviewed the measures in Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Substances, and Substance Abuse and Addiction domains.

Guidance from ERP 3 includes:

• No significant changes to measure

Back-compatible: NA no changes to Data Dictionary

Protocol Name from Source

Virginia Department of Forensic Science, Breath test operator instructional manual, 2005

Source

Virginia Department of Forensic Science. (2005, September). Breath alcohol section. Breath test operator instructional manual.

General References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2011). Alcohol and public health - Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm#legalLimit

Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Highway Safety Programs. (2010). Conforming products list of evidential breath alcohol measurement devices. Federal Register, 75(47), 11624-11627.

Godley, S. H., Godley, M. D., Wright, K. L., Funk, R. R., & Petry, N. M. (2008). Contingent reinforcement of personal goal activities for adolescents with substance use disorders during post-residential continuing care. American Journal on Addictions, 17(4), 278-286.

Hingson, R. W., Heeren, T., & Winter, M. R. (1999). Preventing impaired driving. Alcohol Research & Health, 23(1), 31-39.

Kaminer, Y., Burleson, J. A., & Burke, R. H. (2008). Efficacy of outpatient aftercare for adolescents with alcohol use disorders: a randomized controlled study. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 47(12), 1405-1412.

Moskowitz, H., Burns, M. M., & Williams, A.F. (1985). Skills performance at low blood alcohol levels. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 46(6), 482-485.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). (1994, July). Alcohol-related impairment. Alcohol Alert, 25(PH 351). Retrieved from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa25.htm

Norman, A. L., Pulido, C., Squeglia, L. M., Spadoni, A. D., Paulus, M. P., & Tapert, S. F. (2011). Neural activation during inhibition predicts initiation of substance use in adolescence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. [Epub ahead of print]

Swift, R. (2003). Direct measurement of alcohol and its metabolites. Addiction, 98(Suppl 2), 73-80.

Virginia Tech University. (2011). Students: Alcohol’s effects.

Protocol ID

510501

Variables

Export Variables

Variable Name	Variable ID	Variable Description	dbGaP Mapping
PX510501_Belched_Burped_Regurgitated_Drank1
	PX510501030000	Have you belched, burped, regurgitated, or more taken a drink of anything in the past 20 minutes? show less	N/A
PX510501_Belched_Burped_Regurgitated_Drank2
	PX510501040000	(Ask participant) Have you belched, burped, more regurgitated, or taken a drink of anything in the past 2 minutes? show less	N/A
PX510501_Belched_Burped_Regurgitated_Drank3
	PX510501060000	(Ask participant) Have you belched, burped, more regurgitated, or taken a drink of anything in the past 2 minutes? show less	N/A
PX510501_Breathalyzer_Result
	PX510501050000	Ask participant to blow steadily into the more breathalyzer a second time. Record this result. show less	N/A
PX510501_Breathalyzer_Result_3
	PX510501070000	Ask participant to blow steadily into the more breathalyzer a second time. Record this result. show less	N/A
PX510501_Time_Observation_Began
	PX510501010200	Document the time that the observation began. time	N/A
PX510501_Time_Observation_Began_Am/pm
	PX510501010100	Document the time that the observation more began. Am/pm show less	N/A
PX510501_Time_Observation_Ended
	PX510501020200	Document the time that the observation ended. time	N/A
PX510501_Time_Observation_Ended_Am/pm
	PX510501020100	Document the time that the observation more ended. Am/pm show less	N/A

Assessment of Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders

Measure Name

Alcohol Breathalyzer

Release Date

February 24, 2012

Definition

Bioassay used to detect and quantify recent alcohol use.

Purpose

This assay is used to detect whether the participant has recently used alcohol, and it is a quantitative assay that can be used to measure the concentration of alcohol in breath.

Keywords

alcohol, BAC, Bioassay, Blood Alcohol Concentration, Breathalyzer, SAA, substance use, Assessment of Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders

Measure Protocols

Protocol ID	Protocol Name
510501	Alcohol Breathalyzer

Publications

There are no publications listed for this protocol.