Sensitivity of some tests for alcohol abuse : findings in nonalcoholics recovering from intoxication.

OAM report.PDFTech ReportFAA-AM-83-2DOT/FAA/AM-83/2Air pilotsAlcohol abuseAlcoholismIntoxicationBlood alcohol levelsPerformance testsHeart rateBlood pressureUrinalysisAminesExperimentsHuman subject testingUnited StatesCivil Aerospace Medical InstituteMcKenzie, J.M.Higgins, E.A.Fowler, P.R.Funkhouser, G.E.White, M.A.Moser, E.Civil Aeromedical InstituteUnited States. Office of Aviation MedicineNTL-AVIATION-AVIATIONNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYUS Transportation CollectionA variety of measurements are sensitive to alcoholism; some may be applicable to screening programs, but more precise knowledge of sensitivity and specificity would help to select a minimal test battery. This study assessed the sensitivity of some tests for alcoholism to a single drinking episode.Fifteen nonalcoholic men, 26-59 years old, participated. On one evening they drank ethonal, raising their blood alcohol concentrations (BAC's) to 100-200 mg/dl for at least 2h. At 0700 on the next morning, after 7 h of sleep, they ate breakfast, then completed a battery of performance tests. Blood samples were drawn at 0730 and 1130.The effects of alcohol, estimated by comparison of data with those obtained on another morning of the same week after an evening of abstinence, are summarized: Heart rate, during sleep and all the next morning, was higher; blood pressure, at 0700 and 1100, was unaffected. There was no effect on core body temperature, recorded hourly from 2400. The urinary excretion rates of catecholamines and ketogenic adrenal steroids were augmented by alcohol. The drug did not affect blood levels of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, high density lipid or total cholesterol, or uric acid.Performance tests affected by alcohol were number comparison, number addition, analysis of complex statements, and adaptability (from an air traffic controller selection batter). Tests not affected were abstract reasoning, digit code, digit symbol, short-term memory, hand steadiness, pursuit tracking, rod-and-frame, and 100-hue color sorting