Low-dose aspirin decreases blood alcohol concentrations by delaying gastric emptying

To determine if treatment with low-dose aspirin (ASA) influences the bioavailability of orally administered alcohol and to assess whether this is caused by altered gastric emptying as measured by the paracetamol absorption test.

In a single-center controlled crossover trial, ten healthy male medical students, aged 20-27 years, participated in two experiments in random order. Both times they took paracetamol (1.5 g together with a standardized breakfast) and drank ethanol (0.3 g/kg) 1 h after eating breakfast. On one drinking occasion, no previous medication was given. The other alcohol session was performed after the subjects had taken 75 mg ASA once daily for 7 days. On both occasions, venous blood samples were obtained at exactly timed intervals for a period of 3.5 h.

The blood-ethanol profiles showed large interindividual variations for both experiments. After treatment with ASA, the maximum blood-ethanol concentration was distinctly lower in seven subjects, almost unchanged in two subjects and increased in one subject. Overall, a statistically significant decrease in the peak blood-ethanol concentration was observed. The time required to reach peak blood-ethanol levels was somewhat longer after treatment with ASA. Although the areas under the concentration-time profiles were smaller after ASA treatment, these differences were not statistically significant. The concentrations of paracetamol in plasma were lower when ethanol was ingested after treatment with ASA and the areas under the concentration-time curves (0-170 min) were smaller.

Intake of low-dose ASA (75 mg daily) tends to delay the absorption of a moderate dose of ethanol, which results in lower peak blood-ethanol concentrations and smaller areas under the concentration-time curves. The underlying mechanism seems to be delayed gastric emptying as indicated by the paracetamol absorption test.