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Saliva alcohol reagent strips in altered response protocols
K G Harpe1, D M Yealy, M B Heller
1University of Pittsburgh, Pa.
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
|December 10, 1989
Summary
Prehospital care providers can now use a new saliva alcohol test to help rule out ethanol intoxication in patients with altered consciousness. This rapid test is effective for exclusion but not for precise blood alcohol level determination.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Toxicology
- Diagnostic Testing
Background:
- Prehospital care providers have limited diagnostic tools for initial patient assessment.
- Accurate field tests to rule out ethanol intoxication are lacking.
- Altered level of consciousness requires rapid differential diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of a rapid, semi-quantitative saliva alcohol reagent strip.
- To assess its role in the prehospital assessment of patients with altered consciousness.
- To determine its accuracy in ruling out ethanol intoxication.
Main Methods:
- Prospective trial conducted in a prehospital setting.
- Utilized saliva alcohol reagent strips for patients with altered level of consciousness.
- Assessed sensitivity and specificity for ruling out ethanol intoxication.
Main Results:
- Saliva alcohol strips demonstrated 85.7% sensitivity and 94.4% specificity.
- The test is effective in ruling out significant ethanol intoxication.
- The strips were not accurate in predicting blood alcohol levels.
Conclusions:
- Saliva alcohol reagent strips are valuable tools for prehospital providers.
- They provide crucial information to aid in the assessment of altered consciousness.
- The test aids in excluding ethanol intoxication as a cause.