Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing has become recognized as a potent technique for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair captures a prolonged history of alcohol and other drugs by embedding biomarkers within the fibers of the developing hair shaft. When taken from near the scalp, hair can offer a detection period extending up to roughly 3 months for alcohol and other substances. Hair collection is straightforward, challenging to tamper with, and convenient to transport.
A 1.5-inch segment of approximately 200 hair strands (roughly the diameter of a #2 pencil) closest to the scalp equals 100mg of hair, which is the optimal sample size for screening and verification. For EtG, enhancements, and/or tests exceeding 10 panels, 150mg of the sample is advised. We suggest measuring the sample on a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair isn't accessible, a proportionate quantity of body hair might be gathered. When referencing head hair, we mean scalp hair only. Body hair refers to all other hair types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The four principal stages in processing a drug test result in a lab are Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning involves the initial processing of a sample into a lab’s system. This entails checking that the sample was sealed and dispatched correctly, assigning a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any remaining data entry not covered by an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening includes an initial rapid assessment for drugs of misuse. While Screening is an economical approach to eliminate drug usage in most samples, a positive screen must be verified to be permissible in court. Any samples that are preliminarily positive in Screening need follow-up confirmation.
If a sample is preliminarily positive during the Screening stage, more hair is extracted from the initial sample and prepped for Extraction. At this stage, drugs are removed from hair at significantly lower concentrations than other methods (such as urine or oral fluid), which is why hair drug screening is the most complex methodology to perform.
Confirmation of any positive Screening outcome is performed via GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All presumptive positive samples are cleansed before confirmation as necessary. The complete laboratory process from Accessioning to Confirmation is assessed under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and accreditation to ISO / IEC 17025 standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: While often called "hair follicle tests", the test itself evaluates the hair shaft and not the follicle beneath the scalp
Hair Testing Advantage Over Urine in Farmersville, IL
Extended Detection in Farmersville, IL
Secure Testing in Farmersville, IL
Convenient Testing Locations in Farmersville, IL
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Economic and Fast in Farmersville, IL
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