~ Alco-Screen Test ~

Alco-Screen (tm) is a rapid, highly sensitive method to detect the presence of alcohol in saliva and provide an approximation of relative blood alcohol concentration. Since it was well established that the concentration of alcohol in saliva is very close to that in the blood, saliva is the preferred specimen for alcohol testing, allowing for greater detection sensitivity than breath testing methods. Alco-Screen (tm) is a very simple, one-step, 2-minute test requiring no instrumentation, calibration of special traning to be used effectively, and is convenient enough to be used any time or any place.

BACKGROUND:
Excessive or inappropriate consumption of alcohol is the most
common and pervasive social problems in our society.  It is a
contributory factor to many accidents, injuries and medical
conditions.  Screening of individuals for alcohol consumption
is an important method for the identification of individuals who
might be at risk due to alcohol intoxication.  Screening also
provides additional benefits as a deterrent against inappropriate
alcohol consumption.

The blood alcohol concentration at which a person becomes 
impaired is variable dependent upon the individual.  Individual
specific parameters such as physical size, weight, activity level,
eating habits and alcohol tolerance all affect the level of
impairment of the individual. 

PROCEDURE:
1.  Abstain from placing anything in the mouth for 15 minutes prior to beginning
     the test.  This includes non-alcoholic drinks, tobacco products, coffee,
     breath mints, food, etc.

2.  Open the foil package and remove the strip.  Observe the reactive pad on the
     end of the test strip.  The pad should be a light cream color.  A strip with
     a reagent pad which is dark tan in color or otherwise discolored must be
     discarded.

3.  Saturate the reactive pad with saliva from mouth or sputum cup.  
     Immediately start timer.

4.  At 2 miutes observe the color change (if any) in the reactive pad.  A color
     change of green or blue indicates the presence of alcohol and a positive
     result.  Results obtained after more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds may
     be erroneous.  

5.  Estimate the approximate blood alcohol concentration by comparing the
     color of the reagent pad with the color chart appearing on the test package.

RESULTS:
Alco-Screen (tm) produces a color change in the presence of saliva alcohol
ranging from a light green-gray color a 0.02% blood alcohol concentration to 
a dark blue-gray color near 0.30% blood alcohol concentration.  Color blocks
are provided within this range to allow an approximation of blood alcohol 
concentration to be made.  Alco-Screen (tm) may produce colors that appear
to be between adjacent color blocks.  

Alco-Screen (tm) is very sensitive to the presence of alcohol.  A green color
that is lighter than the 0.02% color block should be interpreted as being 
positive to the presence of alcohol in saliva but less than 0.02% 
blood alcohol.

A result where the reagent pad shows no color change (remains white or
cream colored) should be interpreted as a negative result (no alcohol present).

A result where the edges of the reagent pad produces a slight color but the
majority of the pad remains colorless should be repeated to ensure complete
saturation of the reagent pad with saliva.  If the second result is the same,
the results should be interpreted as being negative (no alcohol present).

CONTROLS:
The integrity of Alco-Screen (tm) may be qualitatively verified using a test
solution prepared by adding 4 drops of 80 proof distilled spirits to 8oz. of
water.  This solution should provide a color reaction equal to or higher
(darker) than the 0.04% color block.

The color reaction with alcohol in saliva is somewhat slower and less
intense than with alcohol in aqueous solutions.