Citation

Schuster R, Bodem M. Blutalkohol 1997; 34(1): 54-65.

Affiliation

Institut fur Rechtsmedizin, Justus-Liebig-Universitat, 35392 Giessen, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A review of the blood alcohol archives of the Giessen University Institute of Forensic Medicine revealed 246 cases of simultaneous ingestion of ethanol and benzodiazepines for the 1972-1988 registration period. The information and data obtained from these random blood samples was compared with the corresponding data of 571 random blood samples of people who were demonstrably free of the usual foreign substances. Statistical analysis was carried out by means of the chi-square test and the analysis of variance. These showed that in cases of blood alcohol concentrations of up to 1.7 (per mille) there were significant differences, with particular disadvantages for the ethanol-benzodiazepine group with regard to the outcome of the fingertip-to-fingertip manoeuvre, the finger-to-nose manoeuvre, the assessment of language and the level of consciousness.