Alcohol Intoxication - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

Definitive diagnosis relies on a blood test for alcohol, usually performed as part of a toxicology screen.

Law enforcement officers often use breathalyzer units and field sobriety tests as more convenient and rapid alternatives to blood tests. The reliability of field sobriety tests is somewhat questionable, although they are commonly used in various jurisdictions.

There are also various models of breathalyzer units that are available for consumer use. Because these may have varying reliability and may produce different results than the tests used for law-enforcement purposes, the results from such devices should be conservatively interpreted.

Many informal intoxication tests exist, which are generally unreliable and not recommended as deterrents to excessive intoxication or as indicators of the safety of activities such as motor vehicle driving, heavy equipment operation, machine tool use, etc.

For determining whether someone is intoxicated by alcohol by some means other than a blood-alcohol test, it is necessary to rule out other conditions such as hypoglycemia, stroke, usage of other intoxicants, mental health issues, and so on. It is best if their behavior has been observed while the subject is sober to establish a baseline. Several well-known criteria can be used to establish a probable diagnosis. For a physician in the acute treatment setting, acute alcohol intoxication can mimic other acute neurological disorders, or is frequently combined with other recreational drugs that complicate diagnosis and treatment.