[Increased ethanol elimination after barium meal--human experimental study with parenteral alcohol administration]

The results of human experimental investigations of blood alcohol kinetics in intravenous alcohol administration published in recent years suggest that alterations both of the current ADH activity and of the rate of hepatic blood flow affect the excretion. The effects of a voluminous gastrointestinal load of 500 g of inert BaSO4 definitively free of calories on the elimination kinetics of ethanol are investigated in two groups each comprising five male subjects. The alcohol is administered exclusively parenterally. Peak blood alcohol values between 0.5 and 1.1 per thousand are attained. After a barium meal, the elimination is significantly raised (p less than 0.01; p less than 0.05) in both groups. The rate of increase up to 27 percent of the baseline value (beta 60 min. 0.108; beta 60 max. 0.15 g/kg) is attributed to the raised hepatic blood flow.