Interaction of chloral hydrate and ethanol in man: II. Hemodynamics and performance

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Abstract
Changes in heart rate, arterial pressure, and skin temperature and in performance tests were studied in 5 male volunteers after ingestion of placebo, ethanol, chloral hydrate, both drugs, or ethanol after 7 days of chloral hydrate pretreatment. Ethanol ingestion was always associated with an increase in heart rate at 0.5 and 1.0 hours; this tachycardia was enhanced by pretreatment with chloral hydrate. Chloral hydrate followed by ethanol also caused greater increases in skin temperatures than other treatments. In one subiect this sequence led to a marked vasodilation reaction characterized by flushing, palpitations, and headache. At the peak of the reaction the blood acetaldehyde level was only half that after ethanol alone which had caused no reaction. The ability to perform a complex motor task was poorest when chloral hydrate was taken with ethanol. Auditory vigilance was significantly impaired by ethanol; concurrent chloral hydrate treatment further decreased performance. The “knock‐out” drop effect was not seen.

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