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Evaluation of ‘Alcotest R80’ Reagent Tubes

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Abstract

A CASE was recently brought to our attention in which a man was taken to the police station and two ‘Alcotest’ breath analyses were immediately carried out. The results of both these tests were borderline, but another which was carried out 30 min later gave a definitely positive result. It was apparent that there was some variation in the sensitivity of the ‘Alcotest’ tubes. Abele1 stated that the ‘Alcotest 80’ reaction, bore little relationship to the alcohol level. Leithoff and Weyrick2 obtained similar results, while Hallermann and Sachs3 and Tara4 claimed that under 9 per cent of results were misleading.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Clinical Biochemistry, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Bedford General Hospital,

    M. DAY, G. G. MUIR & J. WATLING

Authors
  1. M. DAY
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  2. G. G. MUIR
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  3. J. WATLING
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DAY, M., MUIR, G. & WATLING, J. Evaluation of ‘Alcotest R80’ Reagent Tubes. Nature 219, 1051–1052 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2191051a0

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