Soon approaching its 50th anniversary, Journal of Analytical Toxicology (JAT) is an international scholarly publication specializing in analytical and forensic aspects of toxicology. Science Citation Index (SCI) and Journal Citation Reports (JCR), both of which are part of the Web-of-Science (WOS) database, were used to make a bibliometric evaluation of JAT articles. Between 1977 (volume 1) and 2023 (volume 47), a total of n = 4,785 items were published in JAT; the top-ten most highly cited articles and the most prolific authors were identified. Changes in the journal impact factor (JIF) were studied between 1997 and 2022, and this metric varied from a low of 1.24 (2006) to a high of 3.36 (2020).The most recent JIF (2022) dropped to 2.5 and the corresponding 5 year JIF was 2.6. JATs most highly cited article (590 cites) was a working group (SWGTOX) report dealing with standard practices for the validation of analytical methods in forensic toxicology laboratories. JAT published 62 articles each of which were cited over 100 times and the H-index for JAT was 89. The most prolific author of JAT articles was credited with 119 items, the first in 1980 (volume 4) and the latest in 2023 (volume 47). JAT articles were cited 4,537 times in 2022 by all journals in the JCR database, although 520 of these were self-citations (11.5%). Bibliometric methods are increasingly used to evaluate the published work of individual scientists, university departments, entire universities and whole countries. Highly cited articles are considered more influential and authoritative compared with papers that are seldom or never cited.

This article traces the historical development of various biomarkers of acute and/or chronic alcohol consumption. Much of the research in this domain of clinical and laboratory medicine arose from clinics and laboratories in Sweden, as exemplified by carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) and phosphatidylethanol (PEth). Extensive studies of other alcohol biomarkers, such as ethyl glucuronide (EtG), ethyl sulfate (EtS), and 5-hydroxytryptophol (5-HTOL), also derive from Sweden. The most obvious test of recent drinking is identification of ethanol in a sample of the persons blood, breath, or urine. However, because of continuous metabolism in the liver, ethanol is eliminated from the blood at a rate of 0.15 g/L/h (range 0.1-0.3 g/L/h), so obtaining positive results is not always possible. The widow of detection is increased by analysis of ethanols non-oxidative metabolites (EtG and EtS), which are more slowly eliminated from the bloodstream. Likewise, an elevated ratio of serotonin metabolites in urine (5-HTOL/5-HIAA) can help to disclose recent drinking after ethanol is no longer measurable in body fluids. A highly specific biomarker of hazardous drinking is CDT, a serum glycoprotein (transferrin), with a deficiency in its N-linked glycosylation. Another widely acclaimed biomarker is PEth, an abnormal phospholipid synthesized in cell membranes when people drink excessively, having a long elimination half-life (median similar to 6 days) during abstinence. Research on the subject of alcohol biomarkers has increased appreciably and is now an important area of drug testing and analysis.

This technical note reviews the plethora of concentration units used to report blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) and breath-alcohol concentrations (BrAC) for legal purposes in different countries. The choice of units sometimes causes confusion when scientific papers originating from a certain country might be introduced into evidence via expert testimony, such as when alcohol-related crimes are prosecuted. The concentration units are also important to consider when blood/breath ratios (BBRs) of alcohol are calculated and compared between countries. Statutory BAC limits for driving in most nations are reported in mass/volume (m/v) units, such as g/100 mL (g%) in the United States, mg/100 mL (mg%) in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, or g/L (mg/mL) in many EU nations. By contrast, Germany and the Nordic countries report BAC as mass/mass (m/m) units, hence g/kg or mg/g, which are similar to 5.5% lower than m/v units, because whole blood has an average density of 1.055 g/mL. There are historical reasons for reporting BAC in mass/mass units because the aliquots of blood analyzed were measured by weight rather than volume. The difference between m/m and m/v is also important in postmortem toxicology, such as when distribution ratios of ethanol between blood and other biological specimens, such as urine, vitreous humor, and cerebrospinal fluid, are reported.

This article traces the origin of various charts and tables delineating the stages of alcohol influence in relation to the clinical signs and symptoms of drunkenness and a person's blood-alcohol concentration (BAC). In forensic science and legal medicine, the most widely used such table was created by Professor Kurt M. Dubowski (University of Oklahoma). The first version of the Dubowski alcohol table was published in 1957, and minor modifications appeared in various articles and book chapters until the final version was published in 2012. Seven stages of alcohol influence were identified including subclinical (sobriety), euphoria, excitement, confusion, stupor, alcoholic coma and death. The BAC causing death was initially reported as 0.45+ g%, although the latest version cited a mean and median BAC of 0.36 g% with a 90% range from 0.21 g% to 0.50 g%. An important feature of the Dubowski alcohol table was the overlapping ranges of BAC for each of the stages of alcohol influence. This was done to reflect variations in the physiological effects of ethanol on the nervous system between different individuals. Information gleaned from the Dubowski table is not intended to apply to any specific individual but more generally for a population of social drinkers, not regular heavy drinkers or alcoholics. Under real-world conditions, much will depend on a person's age, race, gender, pattern of drinking, habituation to alcohol and the development of central nervous tolerance. The impairment effects of ethanol also depend to some extent on whether observations are made on the rising or declining phase of the blood-alcohol curve (Mellanby effect). There will always be some individuals who do not exhibit the expected behavioral impairment effects of ethanol, such as regular heavy drinkers and those suffering from an alcohol use disorder.

Many people convicted for drunken driving suffer from an alcohol use disorder and some traffic offenders consume denatured alcohol for intoxication purposes. Venous blood samples from people arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol were analyzed in triplicate by headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC) using three different stationary phases. The gas chromatograms from this analysis sometimes showed peaks with retention times corresponding to acetone, ethyl methyl ketone (2-butanone), 2-propanol, and 2-butanol in addition to ethanol and the internal standard (1-propanol). Further investigations showed that these drink-driving suspects had consumed an industrial alcohol (T-Red) for intoxication purposes, which contained > 90% w/v ethanol, acetone (similar to 2% w/v), 2-butanone (similar to 5% w/v) as well as Bitrex to impart a bitter taste. In n = 75 blood samples from drinkers of T-Red, median concentrations of ethanol, acetone, 2-butanone, 2-propanol and 2-butanol were 2050 mg/L (2.05 g/L), 97 mg/L, 48 mg/L, 26 mg/L and 20 mg/L, respectively. In a separate GC analysis, 2,3-butanediol (median concentration 87 mg/L) was identified in blood samples containing 2-butanone. When the redox state of the liver is shifted to a more reduced potential (excess NADH), which occurs during metabolism of ethanol, this favors the reduction of low molecular ketones into secondary alcohols via the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) pathway. Routine toxicological analysis of blood samples from apprehended drivers gave the opportunity to study metabolism of acetone and 2-butanone without having to administer these substances to human volunteers.

This article presents a bibliometric evaluation of Forensic Science International (FSI) as a scholarly journal within the "legal medicine" subject category. Citation data were retrieved from Science Citation Index (SCI) and Journal Citation Reports (JCR), both of which are part of the Web-of-Science (WOS) database. The most cited articles in FSI were identified along with the most prolific authors. The current journal impact factor (JIF) of FSI is 2.2, which was in good agreement with the 5-year JIF of 2.3. FSI was ranked fourth among 17 journals within the legal medicine subject category. Since 1979, a total of 209 FSI articles were cited over 100 times and the H-index for times cited was 125. Although widely used in academia, bibliometric methods might also prove useful in jurisprudence, such as when evaluating the research and publications of people proposed as expert witnesses.

The quantitative analysis of ethanol in blood and other biological specimens is a commonly requested service from forensic science and toxicology laboratories worldwide. The measured blood alcohol concentration (BAC) constitutes important evidence when alcohol-related crimes are investigated, such as drunken driving or drug-related sexual assault. This review article considers the importance of various preanalytical factors that might influence changes in the ethanol concentration in blood after collection and before analysis or reanalysis after various periods of storage. When blood samples were collected by venipuncture from living subjects in evacuated tubes containing sodium fluoride (NaF) preservative, there was no evidence that the BAC increased after collection. Most studies found that the BAC decreased after collection depending on storage conditions, such as time and temperature, and the amount of NaF preservative. After the storage of blood specimens in a refrigerator (4(o)C) for up to 1-4 weeks, the changes in the BAC were not analytically significant. After storage for up to 12 months at 4(o)C, under the same conditions, the BAC decreased on average by 0.01-0.02 g%. The loss of ethanol does not appear to depend on the type of evacuated tubes used (glass or plastic), nominal volume (5 mL or 10 mL) or the amount of NaF preservative. Urine alcohol concentrations were also stable after various periods of storage, although in cases of glycosuria and urinary tract and/or Candida infections, the addition of NaF (1% w/v) was essential to prevent post-sampling synthesis of ethanol.