Effect of Ethanol in Oral Antiseptic Sprays on Breath Alcohol Measurement

Objective:Breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) in routine traffic control might be higher due to reasons which affect mouth alcohol concentration. According to Highways Traffic Regulation, there is no possibility to recheck/remeasure with technical device. In this study, we aimed to answer firstly how oral antiseptic sprays affect BrAC and then what correlation there is between BrACs and time.Methods:This study included 30 healthy volunteers’ results. In this study, three oral antiseptic sprays (OAS) containing ethanol and a portable electrochemical sensorized breathalyzer were used. BrAC (Tbefore), which is used before spray, was checked and saved for each subject. Subjects sprayed 3 puffs of OAS into their mouths and immediately underwent a breathalyzer examination to evaluate BrAC (T0). Two more examinations were conducted 3 minutes later (T3) and 5 minutes later (T5).Results:The highest BrAC value (4.25 permille) was attained at T0 in 12 subjects; all BrAC values (before spray use) were checked and saved. The BrAC median values decreased under legal limit zero as time passed by from T0 to T3 and T5). T3 values were lower than the corresponding T0 values for all three medications and all T5 values were lower than corresponding T0 and T3 values (all p<0.001).Conclusion:This research study shows that ethanol containing sprays may alter the results of a single breathalyzer test. Based on our results, the BrAC values are indeed affected by residual ethanol in the oral cavity due to prior use of OAS and this explains why BrAC decrease rate is remarkable.