Alcohol determination in the clinical laboratory.

Four methods for blood-alcohol analysis--gas chromatography, enzymatic oxidation with alcohol dehydrogenase, chemical oxidation with acid dichromate, and osmometry--are briefly reviewed from the point of view of the clinical laboratory. Advantages and limitations of these methods are discussed, and their key features are tabulated. The correlation of the results of blood-alcohol analyses with stages of alcoholic influence and their corresponding signs and symptoms is presented in tabular form.