Washout kinetics of ethanol from the airways following inhalation of ethanol vapors and use of mouthwash

Figures & data

Table 1. The test subjects’ breath (BrAC) and blood (BAC) alcohol concentrations before, between and after inhalation and mouthwash exposure to ethanol.

	Subject no.	BrAC^a measured before inhalation exposure (mg/L)	Corresponding estimated BAC before inhalation exposure (mg/g)	Measured in blood^b before inhalation exposure (mg/g)	Measured in blood^b between exposures (mg/g)	Measured in blood^b after mouthwash exposure (mg/g)
Males	1	0.0016	0.0031	0.00019	0.00066	0.00072
	2	0.0021	0.0041	0.00014	0.00049	0.00034
	3	0.0016	0.0032	0.00023	0.00130	0.00040
	4	0.0013	0.0025	0.00011	0.00056	0.00084
	5	0.0021	0.0041	0.00018	0.00079	0.00028
Males, average		0.0017	0.0034	0.00017	0.00077	0.00052
Females	6	0.0027	0.0054	0.00050	0.00130	0.00048
	7	0.0008	0.0016	nd	0.00065	0.00034
	8	0.0015	0.0031	0.00049	0.00080	0.00076
	9	0.0028	0.0056	0.00020	0.00046	0.00018
	10	0.0027	0.0053	0.00028	0.00044	0.00024
	11	0.0021	0.0042	0.00034	0.00059	0.00018
Females, average		0.0021	0.0042	0.00031	0.00070	0.00037
Average, all		0.0019	0.0038	0.00024	0.00073	0.00043

^aLimit of detection: 0.0007 mg/L.

^bFingertip capillary blood, limit of detection: 0.00005 mg/g.

nd, not detectable (half of LOD is used in the calculation of average).

Figure 1. (A) Decline in breath alcohol concentrations (BrAC) and corresponding blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) in one subject after inhalation exposure to 906 mg/m³ ethanol for 15 min. (B) Semi-log plot of A.

Table 2. Fitted kinetic parameters describing the decrease in breath ethanol after 15 min of inhalation exposure to 856 mg/m³ ethanol.

	Subject no.	Initial concentration in breath (C0, mg/L)	Concentration in the first breath sample (mg/L)	Half time (min)	Slope constant (min^–1)	Time to reach 0.1 mg/L (min)^a
Males	1	0.15	0.13	0.78	0.015	0.66
	2	0.12	0.08	0.44	0.027	0.22
	3	0.15	0.11	0.49	0.024	0.52
	4	0.09	0.07	0.37	0.031	0.06
	5	0.16	0.10	0.29	0.040	0.30
Males, average		0.13	0.10	0.47	0.027	0.48
Females	6	0.12	0.09	0.49	0.024	0.32
	7	0.13	0.09	0.40	0.029	0.31
	8	0.15	0.10	0.34	0.034	0.39
	9	0.16	0.09	0.42	0.027	0.36
	10	0.11	0.07	0.31	0.037	0.08
	11	0.17	0.08	0.26	0.045	0.26
Females, average		0.14	0.09	0.37	0.033	0.29
Average, all		0.14	0.09	0.42	0.030	0.46

^aThe Swedish statutory limit for ethanol in breath is 0.1 mg/L.

Figure 2. (A) Decline in breath alcohol concentrations (BrAC) and corresponding blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) in one subject after rinsing with ethanol containing mouthwash for 0.5 min. (B) Semi-log plot of A.

Table 3. Fitted kinetic parameters describing the decrease in breath ethanol after rinsing with ethanol containing mouthwash containing 21% ethanol for 0.5 min.

	Subject no.	Initial concentration in breath (mg/L)	Concentration in the first breath sample (mg/L)	Half-time (min)	Slope constant (min^–1)	Time to reach 0.1 mg/L (min)^a
Males	1	5.3	5.5	2.2	0.32	14.1
	2	6.0	6.4	1.9	0.37	11.3
	3	3.2	3.3	3.0	0.23	15.2
	4	5.7	5.3	2.0	0.35	11.9
	5	3.9	4.6	1.8	0.38	9.8
Average, males		4.8	5.0	2.2	0.33	12.5
Females	6	2.7	3.0	1.6	0.44	7.6
	7	4.4	4.5	2.0	0.35	11.0
	8	3.3	3.7	1.9	0.37	9.6
	9	3.7	3.8	2.2	0.31	11.9
	10	3.8	3.5	1.1	0.65	5.7
	11	4.7	5.4	1.5	0.47	8.2
Average, females		3.8	4.0	1.7	0.43	9.0
Average, all		4.3	4.4	1.9	0.38	10.6

^aThe Swedish statutory limit for ethanol in breath is 0.1 mg/L.