Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair analysis has emerged as an effective method for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. The strands encapsulate a prolonged timeline of substance use by embedding biomarkers within the fibers of hair growth. When sourced near the scalp, hair offers a detection period of roughly three months for identifying alcohol and other substances. Collecting hair is straightforward, relatively resistant to tampering, and convenient to transport.
A sample measuring 1.5 inches consisting of about 200 strands (comparable to the width of a #2 pencil) nearest to the scalp yields 100mg, which is the optimal amount for both screening and confirming. For EtG, additional testing, or tests exceeding 10 panels, 150mg of the specimen is suggested. It is advisable to gauge the specimen's weight using a jeweler’s scale. In the absence of scalp hair, a similar quantity of body hair can be collected. "Head hair" specifically refers to scalp hair, while "body hair" encompasses all other types (such as facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The essential phases in laboratory processing of a drug test outcome are Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning refers to the initial incorporation of a sample into a laboratory’s system. This step ensures proper sealing and shipment of the sample, assigns a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and mandates additional data entry if not covered by an electronic chain of custody.
Screening serves as a preliminary assessment for abuse substances. While screening is a cost-effective method for dismissing most drug usage, any positive result requires confirmation for legal admissibility. Samples that are presumptively positive must undergo additional confirmation.
When a sample is tentatively positive during Screening, further hair is extracted from the initial sample for Extraction. This phase involves isolating drugs from hair at a lower concentration than other methods (such as urine or oral fluids), making hair drug screening the most complex method to execute.
Confirmation of any positive screening result is conducted through GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. Presumptive positive samples are washed before confirmation if necessary. The collective lab process, from Accessioning through Confirmation, complies with both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and the ISO / IEC 17025 accreditation standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: Despite being often described as "hair follicle tests", the evaluation is conducted on the hair strand itself and not the follicle below the scalp.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Drummond, ID
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