Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing has emerged as a formidable method for detecting drug and alcohol consumption. Hair captures long-term information on alcohol and drugs by embedding biomarkers in the strands of growing hair. Collecting hair near the scalp can offer a detection timeline of up to three months for alcohol and drugs. It is easy to collect hair, hard to tamper with, and straightforward to transport.
A sample measuring 1.5 inches and consisting of approximately 200 strands (equivalent to the diameter of a #2 pencil) taken nearest to the scalp will produce 100mg of hair, which is the ideal quantity for both screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional tests, and/or tests exceeding 10 panels, it is advisable to have 150mg of the sample. Using a jeweler’s scale to weigh the specimen is recommended. If scalp hair is unavailable, an equivalent amount of body hair can be gathered. Scalp hair specifically refers to head hair, while body hair encompasses all other types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The laboratory process for drug test results involves the primary steps of Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning is the preliminary step of entering a sample into the laboratory's system. This entails confirming that the sample was sealed and dispatched accurately, assigning a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any supplemental data entry that an electronic chain of custody system did not provide.
Screening is a preliminary rapid evaluation for substances of abuse. Screening offers a cost-effective method to exclude drug usage in most cases; however, a positive screen requires confirmation to be valid in legal settings. Samples with presumptive positive results in Screening must undergo subsequent confirmation.
When a sample yields a presumptive positive result during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the initial sample for the Extraction phase. In this phase, drugs are extracted from hair at a concentration considerably lower than other methods (such as urine or oral fluid), which is why hair drug testing proves to be a more challenging methodology.
Any positive screening result is confirmed using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS methods. All samples with presumptive positives are cleansed before confirmation as required. The entire laboratory process, from Accessioning to Confirmation, is evaluated under the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and complies with ISO / IEC 17025 criteria.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: The term "hair follicle tests" is frequently used, but the analysis focuses on the hair strand rather than the follicle beneath the scalp.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Duck Key, FL
Extended Detection Window in Duck Key, FL
Tamper-Resistant Testing Method in Duck Key, FL
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