DUI suspect swore he hadn’t been drinking; researchers found his body produced alcohol

https://fox17online.com/2019/10/26/dui-suspect-swore-he-hadnt-been-drinking-researchers-found-his-body-produced-alcohol/

Posted 8:12 AM, October 26, 2019, by Tribune Media Wire

When a man in North Carolina was pulled over on suspicion of driving drunk, police didn’t believe him when he said he hadn’t had any alcohol.

The man, in his late 40’s at the time, refused to take a breathalyzer test and was taken to a hospital, where his initial blood alcohol level was found to be 0.2% — about 2.5 times the legal limit and the equivalent of consuming 10 drinks an hour. Despite the man swearing up and down that he hadn’t had anything to drink, doctors didn’t believe him either.

But researchers at the Richmond University Medical Center in New York eventually discovered that the man was telling the truth. He wasn’t downing beers or cocktails — instead, there was yeast in his gut that was likely converting carbohydrates in the food he ate to alcohol.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513346/

Auto-brewery Syndrome (Gut Fermentation)

Kelly Painter; Barbara Cordell; Kristin L. Sticco.

Last Update: October 9, 2019.

Auto-brewery syndrome or gut fermentation syndrome is a condition in which ethanol is produced through endogenous fermentation by fungi or bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Patients with auto-brewery syndrome present with many of the signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication while denying an intake of alcohol and often report a high-sugar, high-carbohydrate diet.

The production of endogenous ethanol occurs in minute quantities as part of normal digestion, but when fermenting yeast or bacteria become pathogenic, extreme blood alcohol levels may result. Auto-brewery syndrome is more prevalent in patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes, obesity, and Crohn disease [1][2] but can occur in otherwise healthy individuals.[3] Several strains of fermenting yeasts and rare bacteria are identified as the pathogens. While auto-brewery syndrome is rarely diagnosed, it is probably underdiagnosed.[4]

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