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Published on: June 23, 2023
False-positive ethanol blood concentrations leading to clinical confusion on Christmas Day
1The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 28 Woodville Rd, Woodville Sth, SA 5000, Australia. terry.jones@health.sa.gov.au
Abstract:
A case of altered consciousness in which ethanol ingestion was one of the differential diagnoses is described. Three separate blood samples were conveyed to the hospital biochemistry laboratory and each returned a positive value when assayed via an indirect, enzymatic method. The family strongly denied alcohol ingestion and hence, a few days later, the samples were conveyed to an external laboratory using a 'specific', chromatographic method. These samples were all reported as negative for ethanol. Alternative causes of altered consciousness were restricted by the false-positive ethanol laboratory results.
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