The medico-legal significance of pharmacokinetic interactions with ethanol

Abstract

In the UK, the maximal permitted ethanol concentration for driving is 80 mg ethanol/100 mL blood, 35 μg ethanol/100 mL breath or 107 mg ethanol/100 mL urine. Drivers exceeding the prescribed limit face severe penalties, which they are often anxious to avoid, either by acquittal or by putting forward ‘special reasons’ why they should not be disqualified from driving. One frequently explored defence is that the accused was taking prescribed medication. Defence solicitors often ask the question whether the prescribed medication could have caused significantly altered blood ethanol concentrations. This paper reviews the impact of various medications and how they can influence the blood ethanol concentration. Although many drugs can interact with ethanol at a pharmacodynamic level, causing increased impairment, relatively few drugs interact with ethanol pharmacokinetically leading to significantly altered blood ethanol concentrations.