alcohol intoxication
Enable an AI agent to recognise and describe a suspected episode of alcohol intoxication, track impairment and uncertainty, and identify when human assessment or protective action is needed.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise and describe a suspected episode of alcohol intoxication, track impairment and uncertainty, and identify when human assessment or protective action is needed.
Alcohol intoxication is a transient clinical state following ethanol consumption in which its effects produce clinically significant disturbances of behaviour, cognition, coordination, consciousness or other physiological functions.
It can be Assemble a time-stamped episode account that separates reports, observations, measurements and assessments.; Compare successive observations to identify improvement, deterioration or unresolved uncertainty.; Flag missing information and competing explanations for human assessment.; Identify immediate safety concerns and refer to an applicable emergency or clinical protocol.; Communicate an evidence-based handover that preserves attribution and uncertainty.; Record the basis for episode closure and any unresolved concerns requiring follow-up..
Distinguishing features
Record evidence of an acute change in functioning plausibly associated with ethanol exposure; drinking history alone does not establish intoxication.
Distinguish a current episode from alcohol use disorder, which concerns a longitudinal pattern and cannot be inferred from one episode.
Distinguish current intoxication from withdrawal or residual after-effects by recording timing, symptom course and the basis for assessment.
Separate measured alcohol concentration, observed impairment and a legal threshold: each answers a different question.
Retain alternative or concurrent explanations for altered functioning; an alcohol history or measurement does not resolve attribution by itself.
Scope
+ Suspected or assessed acute intoxication from ethanol exposure
+ Episode timing, exposure history and uncertainty about attribution
+ Observed changes in cognition, behaviour, coordination and consciousness
+ Alcohol measurements interpreted alongside observed functioning
+ Immediate vulnerability, hazardous activities and escalation needs
+ Episode progression, reassessment and resolution evidence
- Alcohol use disorder and longitudinal drinking patterns as independently modelled conditions
- Alcohol withdrawal and its management
- Chronic alcohol-related disease
- Methanol, ethylene glycol and other non-ethanol toxic exposures
- The social practice of drinking and the production or composition of alcoholic beverages
- Jurisdiction-specific offences, legal capacity determinations and clinical treatment protocols
Characteristics
- Episode assessment status
- suspected | assessed as present | uncertain | assessed as resolved; assessor and assessment time recorded Prevents an initial suspicion from becoming an unqualified diagnosis.
- Reported ethanol exposure
- beverage volume in mL and alcohol concentration in % ABV, or ethanol mass in g when supportable; approximate times and uncertainty Makes exposure estimates interpretable without assuming that a drink has a universal size.
- Alcohol concentration result
- numeric result with original unit, blood or breath specimen, collection time, method and reporting limit Preserves the context needed to interpret a result and avoids conflating specimen types or units.
- Observed functional changes
- time-stamped observations of attention, speech, coordination, judgment and responsiveness, with baseline comparison where known Describes the actual episode rather than substituting a concentration or stereotype for functioning.
- Safety-critical observations
- present | absent | not assessed for concerns involving breathing, responsiveness, vomiting, injury and exposure to hazards Separates immediate safety needs from certainty about the cause.
- Episode trajectory
- worsening | stable | improving | fluctuating | unknown, with observation interval Supports reassessment and prevents elapsed time alone from being treated as evidence of recovery.
- Alternative or concurrent contributors
- links to suspected injuries, illnesses, medicines or other substances, with evidence and assessment status Keeps competing explanations and combined effects visible.
- Activity-specific functioning
- activity named; concern observed | concern reported | assessed by qualified person | not assessed Avoids turning a general intoxication label into a universal judgment about ability or capacity.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 9 layers · 17 findings · 27 questions.
Episode identity and attribution Establishes what episode is being described and why ethanol is considered a contributor.
Intoxication must be distinguished from exposure alone, chronic conditions and other causes of altered functioning.
Acute episode boundary
Locates the suspected episode relative to baseline functioning and neighbouring conditions.
Episode definition and status
Record the assessment framework, acute changes and current confidence that this is an intoxication episode.
- What operational definition of alcohol intoxication is being used, and by which assessor or institution? definition
- What distinguishes this episode from alcohol exposure without established impairment, withdrawal, a hangover or a longitudinal alcohol-use condition? boundary
Ethanol attribution
Connects exposure evidence to the observed episode without assuming a single cause.
Attribution evidence and alternatives
Keep the evidence for ethanol involvement separate from competing or concurrent explanations.
- Which reports, observations or test results support ethanol involvement, and who supplied each item? provenance
- Which injuries, illnesses, medicines or other substances remain plausible contributors to the observed changes? boundary
Exposure and alcohol measurement Captures the timing and quantity of exposure and the meaning of alcohol test results.
Exposure estimates and measurements are useful only when their units, timing and limitations remain explicit.
Exposure reconstruction
Builds a qualified account of ethanol intake relevant to this episode.
Intake amount and timing
Record reported intake in interpretable quantities, preserving gaps and conflicting accounts.
- What beverage or ethanol-containing product, amount, concentration, route and intake times are reported? measurement
- Who provided the exposure history, and which quantities or times are estimates, disputed or unknown? provenance
Test context and interpretation
Preserves the conditions under which alcohol concentration was measured and interpreted.
Alcohol result with context
Treat a concentration as a time-specific measurement whose interpretation requires additional evidence.
- What was measured, in which specimen and unit, by what method, and at what time relative to intake and observed impairment? measurement
- Is the result being used to establish exposure, support a clinical assessment or compare with a jurisdiction-specific legal threshold? boundary
- What uncertainty limits any conversion, retrospective estimate or inference about functioning from this result? measurement
Impairment and episode course Describes actual functional changes and their evolution through the episode.
A useful intoxication model must represent what the person can presently do and how that state changes.
Observed functioning
Records concrete observations while separating them from interpretation.
Functional change profile
Describe changes in cognition, speech, movement, behaviour and responsiveness without assuming every domain is affected.
- What specific changes in attention, speech, coordination, judgment, behaviour or responsiveness were observed, and when? measurement
- What baseline, communication needs or pre-existing impairments affect the interpretation of those observations? boundary
Serial assessment and resolution
Tracks change and the evidence used to close or continue the episode.
Trajectory and resolution basis
Record reassessment findings and explicit reasons for judging the episode improved, unresolved or resolved.
- Across time-stamped reassessments, which functional or safety observations improved, worsened, fluctuated or remained unassessed? measurement
- Who judged the episode resolved, using what criteria, and which remaining concerns require another assessment or model? action
Immediate safety and supported decisions Connects the episode to urgent concerns, hazardous activities and appropriate human support.
Protective decisions may be needed before the cause or extent of intoxication is fully established.
Urgent concerns and escalation
Identifies observations requiring assessment under an applicable safety or clinical protocol.
Safety concerns and response
Record immediate concerns, their observation time and the response taken without embedding a treatment protocol.
- What concerns involving breathing, responsiveness, vomiting, injury or environmental exposure are present, absent or not assessed? measurement
- Which applicable protocol or qualified responder determines the needed escalation, and what action or handover has occurred? action
Activity context and support
Relates observed impairment to a specific proposed activity, decision or support need.
Task-specific risk and assistance
Keep immediate support needs distinct from formal legal or clinical determinations.
- What activity or decision is at issue, such as driving, operating equipment, travelling alone or participating in an assessment, and what observed difficulty is relevant? boundary
- What assistance, supervision or qualified assessment is needed, who can provide it, and what has been arranged? action
- Which questions about consent, capacity or legal restrictions require a separate decision-specific assessment under the applicable rules? boundary
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- The intended sense is acute ethanol intoxication, a clinical condition; the supplied ACT.ACT domain should be checked against the registry's classification rules.
- Clinical intoxication, measured ethanol concentration and legal impairment are related but not interchangeable.
- This is recall-based: exact diagnostic wording, current national codes and jurisdiction-specific legal thresholds require verification.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Uncomplicated acute intoxication
- Intoxication with perceptual disturbances
- Severe intoxication with depressed consciousness or coma
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- ICD-10 - F10.0 - World Health Organization category for acute intoxication due to alcohol; national modifications may use additional subdivisions.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- The World Health Organization's ICD classifies acute intoxication due to alcohol.
- The American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5-TR provides diagnostic criteria for alcohol intoxication.
- National and subnational road-traffic laws define alcohol-related driving offences through concentration limits, evidence of impairment, or both.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Emergency assessment of altered consciousness, impaired coordination and suspected poisoning.
- Clinical differentiation from head injury, hypoglycaemia and intoxication involving other substances.
- Forensic interpretation of blood or breath alcohol results.
- Roadside and occupational assessment of alcohol-related impairment.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Blood ethanol concentration - No single concentration range defines clinical intoxication; effects vary with tolerance, timing and co-exposures. - mg/dL or g/L
- Breath ethanol concentration - Jurisdiction- and instrument-dependent interpretation; breath and blood concentrations are distinct measurements. - mg/L of breath
- Glasgow Coma Scale score - 3-15 is the scale's full range, not a range specific to intoxication. - points
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Impaired judgement, reaction time and coordination increase risks of collisions, falls and other injuries.
- Severe intoxication can cause respiratory depression, coma and death.
- Vomiting with impaired airway protection can cause aspiration.
- Hypoglycaemia and hypothermia may complicate intoxication.
- Attributing altered consciousness solely to alcohol can conceal head injury, other illness or co-ingestion; other depressants can intensify toxicity.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Legal driving limits, evidentiary procedures and rules for novice or professional drivers vary by jurisdiction.
- Public-intoxication laws and approaches to protective custody vary.
- Alcohol concentration reporting units and national diagnostic coding modifications differ.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Alcohol consumption - Consumption is the exposure or activity; intoxication is a resulting clinical state and does not follow every consumption episode.
- Alcohol use disorder - A persistent problematic pattern of use is distinct from an acute episode; either can occur without the other.
- Alcohol withdrawal - Withdrawal follows reduction or cessation after sustained exposure, whereas intoxication reflects the effects of recently consumed ethanol.
- Hangover - Hangover generally emerges as blood alcohol approaches zero and may persist after acute intoxication has resolved.
- Alcohol poisoning - Commonly denotes severe, potentially life-threatening intoxication rather than a wholly separate condition.
- Methanol poisoning - Involves a different alcohol whose toxic metabolites can cause metabolic acidosis and visual injury; this entry concerns ethanol.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of alcohol intoxication this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Which existing Vercy world model, if any, already owns acute ethanol intoxication, and should this registry entry link to it instead of creating another model?
- Which clinical and research definitions should be represented, and how do their thresholds for identifying an episode differ?
- How should this ACT / ACT.ACT entry relate to physiological condition models without duplicating ownership of the same episode?
- Which validated observation instruments and episode-resolution criteria are appropriate across clinical, community and forensic settings?
- Where should the catalogue draw the boundary between alcohol intoxication and alcohol poisoning, including whether poisoning is a severity designation or a linked condition?