Evaluating Perceived Fitness to Drive While Intoxicated

University of Pennsylvania

Status: Completed

Conditions: Drinking, Alcohol; Driving Under the Influence; Alcohol Intoxication; Perception, Self; Drinking Behavior; Alcohol Drinking

Treatments: Behavioral: Participants Shown their Breath Alcohol Content Measurement

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05028413

827284

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this study is to conduct a laboratory-based pilot randomized control trial of smartphone-enabled breath alcohol monitoring on perceived fitness to drive a vehicle among intoxicated adults. The study team will enroll up to 30 adults aged > 21-44 who are frequent drinkers without dependence who drive more than four times per week to complete a standardized alcohol drinking protocol in a monitored setting collecting breathalyzer measurements. The protocol involves consuming three weight-based doses of alcohol with a target BAC of 0.10 and completing breathalyzer measurements every 20 minutes until a BAC of 0.03 is reached. The control group will complete a visual analog scale on their perceived fitness to drive and be blinded to their breath alcohol readings with the BACtrack Mobile Pro breathalyzer device, while the intervention group would do the same, but be shown their breath alcohol readings on the paired BACtrack smartphone application. The research team's previous research has validated the accuracy of the BACtrack Mobile Pro device to measure BAC within +/- 0.001 of police-grade breathalyzer and estimate BAC within +/- 0.01 of a blood test.

Enrollment: 22 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21 to 39 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age 21-39 years old,
• Less than 4 drinking days and less than 12 drinks per week on average in the past 2 months,
• Have consumed at least 4 (women) or 5 (men) drinks on one occasion, in the past year without experiencing adverse effects
• Have a valid photo ID
• Willing and able to use a rideshare credit or septa token as transportation home from the study visit
• Drives at least 2 days per week on average.

Exclusion criteria

• Desire alcohol treatment now or received it in the past 6 months,
• Have Alcohol use disorder per DSM-V criteria
• Meet or have met criteria for a substance use disorder within the past 12 months per DSM V criteria
• Have a prior psychiatric condition requiring hospitalization
• Are non-English-speaking
• Individuals who have a medical condition or who are taking medication which limits or prevents the consumption of alcohol
• Are experiencing suicidal ideation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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22 participants in 2 patient groups

Participants Blinded to BrAC reading (Control)

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants randomized to this arm will consume three weight-based doses of alcohol with a target BAC of 0.10 and comple breathalyzer measurements every 20 minutes until a BAC of 0.03 is reached. They will complete a visual analog scale (the Self-Reported intoxication Survey) on their perceived fitness to drive and be blinded to their breath alcohol readings with the BACtrack Mobile Pro device.

Participants Aware of their BrAC reading

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to this arm will consume three weight-based doses of alcohol with a target BAC of 0.10 and comple breathalyzer measurements every 20 minutes until a BAC of 0.03 is reached. They will be shown their breath alcohol readings with the BACtrack Mobile Pro device before completing a visual analog scale (the Self-Reported intoxication Survey) on their perceived fitness to drive.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Participants Shown their Breath Alcohol Content Measurement