Pawit Katakot. Validation of the standard field sobriety tests for determining alcohol intoxication . Master's Degree(Epidemiology). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2007.
Validation of the standard field sobriety tests for determining alcohol intoxication
ความน่าเชื่อถือของเครื่องมือ Standard field sobriety tests ในการทดสอบคนเมาแอลกอฮอล์
Abstract:
This research is a population-based cross-sectional analytical study which
studied the reliability of Standard Field Sobriety Tests compared with breath analyzer
tests to determine alcohol intoxication of 103 healthy volunteers whose age range was
from 20-40. All volunteers had to drink alcoholic beverages and undergo the testing
conducted by well trained assistants. Each testing method had a high inter-rater
reliability (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Walk and Turn and One leg stand were 0.968
(95%CI=0.907-0.991), 0.977 (95%CI=0.931-0.994) and 0.977 (95%CI=0.931-0.994).
Results of the study showed that 76.7% of male volunteers, had blood alcohol
concentration averaging 58.3 mg%. Duration of the test administration for the 3
methods was 3.56 minutes. Criteria to decide the alcohol intoxication using the 3
testing methods is score = 1. For the HGN test, given the cut point of BAC 30 mg%
provided a level of accuracy of 93.2%, sensitivity = 97.1%, specificity = 84.8%, and
the excellent agreement was 0.840. For WAT and OLS tests, given the cut point of
BAC 50 mg%, the Walk and Turn possessed sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of
76.4%, 64.6%, and 70.9% respectively, and agreement value 0.412, while the value of
One Leg Stand was 45.5%, 85.4%, and 64.1% respectively and kappa statistic was
0.300. HGN has the most reliable value when comparing the cut point of BAC at 50
mg%, which means the person is intoxicated based on the standard legal limit i.e.
accuracy=78.7%, sensitivity = 70.9%, specificity = 87.5%, and kappa = 0.576.
The Standard Field Sobriety Tests are still not legally applicable. However, it
should be used to conduct preliminary tests in drunk drivers to reduce numbers on the
road using the HGN test.