Police and doctors were skeptical when a 46-year-old man in the United States claimed he had not consumed alcohol before being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
His blood alcohol concentration was more than twice the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle. He refused a breathalyzer test, was hospitalized, and later released.
Auto Brewery Syndrome (ABS) causes distress for many individuals.
Subsequently, researchers uncovered an unusual fact: the presence of fungi in the man’s digestive system was converting carbohydrates into alcohol— a rare condition diagnosed as Auto Brewery Syndrome (ABS).
In individuals with this syndrome, fermenting fungi or bacteria in the gut produce ethanol, which can result in symptoms of intoxication. This condition, also known as gut fermentation syndrome, can occur in healthy individuals but is more commonly found in patients with diabetes or obesity.
“It is a terrible illness,” said Barbara Cordell, a researcher studying Auto Brewery Syndrome (ABS).
Typically, those with Auto Brewery Syndrome (ABS) may emit a smell reminiscent of alcohol or frequently feel fatigued, making it difficult to work or spend time with family. Some patients have lost their jobs due to this condition.
Fahad Malik, the head of the internal medicine department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, noted that these patients often exhibit characteristics similar to those of alcoholics: the odor, breath, drowsiness, and changes in gait.
Which cases may lead to inaccurate blood alcohol readings?
Breath analyzers or breath alcohol testers are devices that measure the amount of alcohol in the air a person exhales, allowing for the calculation of blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
Generally, after consuming alcoholic beverages, the human body absorbs the ethanol in alcohol through the stomach’s mucous membranes into the bloodstream. Because ethanol is volatile, once the blood is saturated, alcohol passes through the capillaries in the lung’s alveoli, where a small amount of ethanol evaporates and diffuses into the alveolar sacs, mixing with air in the lungs.
Breath alcohol testers operate in various ways – (Image: Shutterstock).
Many breath alcohol testers rely on chemical reactions. The alcohol vapor in a person’s breath reacts with an orange solution within the device called potassium dichromate. Some devices calculate BAC by transmitting an infrared (IR) beam through an air sampling chamber upon receiving the breath sample.
Several factors can affect alcohol measurement results. For instance, other compounds in the breath, temperature, and the health condition of the person being tested can all play a role. Additionally, because fat in the body does not absorb alcohol, individuals with higher body mass may have a higher BAC, as their lean tissue contains a higher concentration of alcohol.
People with gastroesophageal reflux disease may also register a higher BAC than their actual level, as alcohol vapor from the stomach that has not yet been absorbed into the bloodstream can be expelled in their breath due to belching.
Individuals with diabetes may also frequently show elevated and misleading results because their blood contains high levels of acetone, a substance that breath analyzers may confuse with ethanol.
