The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test: fraudulent science in the American courts.

The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test was conceived, developed and promulgated as a simple procedure for the determination of the blood alcohol concentration of drivers suspected of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Bypassing the usual scientific review process and touted through the good offices of the federal agency responsible for traffic safety, it was rushed into use as a law enforcement procedure, and was soon adopted and protected from scientific criticism by courts throughout the United States. In fact, research findings, training manuals and other relevant documents were often held as secrets by the state. Still, the protective certification of its practitioners and the immunity afforded by judicial notice failed to silence all the critics of this deeply flawed procedure. Responding to criticism, the sponsors of the test traveled the path documented in this paper that led from mere (if that word can ever truly apply to a matter of such gravity) carelessness in research through self-serving puffery and finally into deliberate fraud--always at the expense of the citizen accused.

End-position nystagmus as an indicator of ethanol intoxication.

The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test is used by law enforcement agencies in the United States to determine whether drivers are intoxicated. It has a high baseline error and a dose/response relationship that varies greatly according to whether the subject's blood alcohol concentration is rising or falling. Confusion exists among practitioners of the test about whether it quantifies alcohol concentration or evaluates impairment. Fatigue exacerbates one component of the HGN test, end-position nystagmus. Video tapes recorded by cameras in police vehicles revealed that police officers rarely comply with the minimum requirements of the nystagmus examination procedures for which they were trained and certified.

Veres needle in the pleural space.

The Veres needle is designed to allow entry into body cavities without trauma to underlying organs. Its major use has been in the induction of a pneumoperitoneum for peritoneoscopy. An initial successful evaluation of its use was in the pleural space of dogs. A subsequent analysis of complications in 69 thoracenteses using the Veres needle and 152 thoracenteses using a conventional needle favored the Veres needle (P = .05). We believe that the Veres needle is a safe and technically superior instrument for thoracentesis and that it deserves further application and study.

Cardiodynamics in the rhesus macaque during dissociative anesthesia.

Effects of dissociative anesthesia on cardiovascular dynamics and respiration were investigated in rhesus macaques to determine its use in nonhuman primates for restraint and minor surgical procedures. Respiration was spontaneous, and premedicants or anesthetic adjuvants were not used. Two doses of the anesthetic were administered (IM): 1.5 and 3.0 mg/kg. Depressant effects were observed in all variables initially; some cardiovascular variables eventually exceeded preinjection values after the higher (3.0 mg/kg) dose level. At a dose of 1.5 mg/kg, significant depression in myocardial contractility persisted for 20 minutes, and at 3.0 mg/kg for 50 minutes. Stroke volume was minimally affected initially, although significant increases occurred at 40 and 50 minutes after the 3.0 mg/kg injections. Heart rate was depressed by 5% and 7% in the animals given the small and large doses. Values were within control levels by 90 minutes after the anesthetic was injected, except respiratory rate and body temperature. We conclude that the dissociative anesthetic used produces neither marked nor prolonged cardiovascular effects. Since cardiovascular effects are absent by 90 minutes after the anesthetic was injected, dissociative anesthesia is a desirable technique for minor surgical procedures and restraint, especially before physiologic studies.

Dietary induction of renal mineralization in dogs.

Ten dogs were fed diets high in phosphorus and low in calcium to induce secondary hyperparathyroidism, with ten dogs fed a standard diet as controls. At the end of the feeding period, all dogs were necropsied. Because of an apparent increase in mineral deposits in the kidneys of hyperparathyroid dogs, the amount and characteristics of these mineral deposits were compared. The dogs in the test groups had larger and more widely disseminated deposits. Five additional dogs were nephrectomized unilaterally, fed the test diet and euthanized at three-month intervals. In these dogs, the amount of renal mineral increased until six months after the start of the test diet, but dit not appreciably change between six and 15 months postdiet. When compared to controls, the test dog kidneys in this second experiment had a greater amount and wider distribution of renal mineralization and tubular dilatation.

Infusion tomography and the total body opacification effect: appraisal in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis.

Clinical and laboratory investigations were performed to test the criteria used in infusion tomography of the gallbladder (ITGB) for the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. The results demonstrated a 14% incidence of gallbladder wall visualization in 200 patients asymptomatic for gallbladder disease undergoing excretory urography with tomography. The animal investigation showed no significant difference (0.1 less than p less than 0.2) in radiographic results between control (n = 6) and acute cholecystitis (n = 7) groups. Serious questions are raised regarding the clinical reliability of ITGB using currently accepted diagnostic criteria.

Effects of tobacco, time on task, and stimulus speed on judgments of velocity and time.

16 college students were required to predict the time of target arrival for a stimulus apparently moving horizontally to a point of occlusion and to reproduce the time interval the stimulus was present under smoking and no-smoking conditions. Tobacco resulted in underestimations of velocity and time judgments particularly in the early stage of the task and for the slowest stimulus speed.