Citation

Laubichler W. Blutalkohol 1977; 14(4): 247-257.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1977, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Nine patients, who committed drivers' escapes in post traumatic twilight states, are presented. Two of them withdrew from the scene of accident by their vehicles (bicycle, autocycle), the others ran away on foot; three of them stopped cars in their twilight states and proceeded on their flights in these cars. As a rule there exists an exactly defined amnesia; only two patients had a lacunar amnesia, similar to one that often occurs after a concussion of the brain. A retrograde amnesia was always missing. The minimum space of time which a post traumatic twilight state covers is to twenty to thirty minutes, and it often requires many hours. As a rule an initial deep unconsciousness is missing, and it existed only once in our cases. Herewith the post traumatic twilight state clearly differs from the concussion of the brain, and is probably another form of a disturbance of consciousness. The action during the twilight state seems to be motivated; sometimes the semi-conscious patients carry out what they had previously intended to do; two of our own patients appeared at their working places. We have referred to the similarity of the post traumatic twilight state to the epileptic psychomotor fits. The very difficult problem of a differential diagnostical delimitation compared with hysteroid panic reaction has been dealt with.

DWI; DUI