Effect of ethanol on the ventilatory responses to oxygen and carbon dioxide in man.

1. Hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory drives were measured in eight healthy male subjects before and after ingestion of ethanol, in a dose of 17 mmol/kg body weight. 2. A significant decrease in hypoxic ventilatory drive was observed at 20 min after ethanol (P less than 0.05). A significant depression in hypercapnic drive was observed at 70 min after indigestion of ethanol (P less than 0.05). The mean peak blood ethanol (24mmol/1) occurred at 20 min, at which time the lowest mean hypoxic drive was recorded. 3. Ethanol in moderate doses produced a depression of both hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory drives in normal subjects. This suggests that ethanol may play a role in the precipitation of acute respiratory failure in certain patients in whom the ventilatory drive is already impaired, as in chronic airways obstruction.