Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair analysis is now recognized as an effective method for detecting substance and alcohol usage. The structure of hair locks in biomarkers within the growing strands, offering an extended timeline of substance presence. When collected at the root, hair samples offer an approximate 90-day detection period for various substances. Hair collection is straightforward, resistant to tampering, and easy to transport.
A 1.5-inch section of approximately 200 hairs (around the thickness of a #2 pencil) nearest the scalp is needed to obtain the optimal 100mg sample for both screening and verification. For EtG, additional tests, and/or tests that exceed 10 panels, 150mg of the hair is advised. It’s best to utilize a jeweler’s scale to weigh the hair. If scalp hair isn't available, the equivalent amount of body hair can be used. By "head hair," we mean scalp hair; "body hair" refers to all other types (facial, underarm, etc.).
Process Overview
The drug testing lab procedure consists of four crucial phases: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning is the initial stage of integrating a sample into the lab's system. This step includes verifying correct sealing and shipment, assigning a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and finalizing any pending data entry not covered by an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening involves a preliminary quick scan for substance abuse indicators. This cost-effective procedure is optimal for excluding drug use in most samples, but any positive results need confirmation for legal acceptability. Any presumed positive results from Screening necessitate further verification.
If a sample tests positive during Screening, additional hair is drawn from the original sample for the Extraction phase. During Extraction, substances are isolated from hair at much lower concentrations than other methods (e.g., urine or saliva), which makes hair drug testing particularly challenging.
Verification of any presumptive positive results is done through GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. Samples suspected to be positive undergo cleansing before verification when necessary. The entire process, from Accessioning to Confirmation, is subject to review under the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair mandate and accreditation under ISO/IEC 17025 standards.
Benefits of hair drug testing:
Drawbacks:
Note: Though referred to as "hair follicle tests," the test actually analyzes the strand of hair, not the follicle beneath the scalp.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Burley, ID
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