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Blood Hematocrit

Yet another potential source of error in breath-alcohol analysis involves the variability in the composition of the blood.

Whole blood is made up of a mixture of solid particles suspended in a liquid. The solid particles consist of red blood cells, white blood cells, and clotting platelets; the liquid portion is called plasma. The percentage by volume of the solid particles is called the hematocrit of the blood. Thus, for example, a hematocrit of .47 would indicate that the individual’s blood consists of 47 percent solid particles (cells and platelets) and 53 percent plasma.

Since plasma is a liquid and contains water, and alcohol is more soluble in water, it will contain a higher concentration of alcohol than the solid particles in the blood. The less plasma in the blood (i.e., the higher the hematocrit), the more concentrated the alcohol will be in the existing plasma. Thus, the higher the hematocrit, the higher the alcohol concentration in the plasma. To put it another way, if two subjects have the same blood-alcohol concentration in their bodies, but one has a higher hematocrit, that person’s plasma will have a higher concentration of alcohol.

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