A study to investigate the ability of subjects with chronic lung diseases to activate the roadside lion Alcolmeter((R)) SL-400

The Lion Alcolmeter(R) SL-2 is widely used for road-side breath-testing by police in the UK. However, some individuals with lung diseases have difficu lty in activating the device. This study describes an investigation that we have carried out on a new device called the Lion Alcolmeter(R) SL-400 whic h has recently been introduced into use by police forces in the UK. The man ufacturers state that the machine requires a minimum continuous expiratory flow rate of 25 litres per minute and a mini-mum expired volume of 1.5 litr es, after which a breath sample is automatically taken and analysed. Our study was designed to investigate the ability of subjects with a variet y of lung diseases to activate this device. The 40 adult subjects investiga ted consisted of 10 normal controls, 10 with asthma, 10 with chronic obstru ctive pulmonary disease and 10 with restrictive lung disease. After baseline lung function tests were performed, the subjects were then g iven alcohol to drink, the amount of which was based upon their body weight . After a gap of at least 20 minutes, the subjects were then asked to attem pt up to three blows into the Alcolmeter. Our results showed that three asthmatic subjects, four with chronic obstruc tive pulmonary disease and two with restrictive lung disease, failed to suc cessfully activate the device even after three attempts. All of the subject s who failed to activate the device had an expired breath volume of more th an 1.5 litres, but seven out of these nine subjects had a Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1) of less than 1.1 litres. In conclusion, this study has shown that some subjects with lung diseases m ay have difficulty in activating the SL-400 roadside alcolmeter device.