Methanol Levels in Saliva--A Non-Invasive Parameter That May Be Useful in Detection of Alcohol Intoxication

Non-invasive screening parameters proving alcohol intoxication are necessary especially in forensic contexts. Results obtained by common measurement methods like the ethanol breath analyzer may be falsified by several parameters like hypoventilation. Therefore, we undertook a pilot study investigating the usefulness and applicability of methanol levels measured in saliva. Our results show that methanol levels in saliva are closely linked to ethanol levels in saliva (r = 0.971, P < 0.0001, t = 5.622, P = 0.000) as well as to ethanol levels in serum (r = 0.786, P = 0.001, t = -1.106, P = 0.058). Therefore, methanol levels measured in saliva might be applicable in order to increase the validity of other non-invasive measurement methods like the ethanol breath analyzer.