Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Orient, IL

What it is, How it works

Hair testing has gained recognition as an effective means for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair strands capture biomarkers over time, offering a historical account of drug and alcohol use. Collected near the scalp, hair can reveal usage patterns for up to roughly 90 days. Collection is straightforward, tampering is challenging, and transportation is uncomplicated.

A sample measuring 1.5 inches consisting of around 200 hair strands (akin to a #2 pencil's width) near the scalp yields roughly 100mg, optimal for testing. For EtG, additional tests, or panels exceeding 10, 150mg is recommended. Employ a jeweler’s scale for weighing. In the absence of scalp hair, equivalent body hair may be utilized. Head hair exclusively refers to scalp hair, while body hair encompasses other types (facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The drug test's lab process encompasses four primary phases: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning includes integrating the sample into the lab system, which involves confirming proper sealing and shipping, assigning a LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any outstanding data entry not fulfilled by an electronic chain of custody.

Screening serves as an initial assessment for substances. Although Screening is cost-efficient for clearing most samples, only confirmed positive results are legally valid, necessitating secondary confirmation for any presumptively positive findings.

For presumptively positive samples during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the sample for the Extraction phase. Here, drugs are isolated from hair at lower concentrations than other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), highlighting the complexity of hair drug testing.

GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS techniques confirm positive screening outcomes. Prior to confirmation, presumptive positives undergo washing if necessary. The comprehensive lab process, from Accessioning to Confirmation, adheres to CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair standards and is accredited under ISO / IEC 17025.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Extended detection period: Hair drug tests identify drug use up to 90 days, unlike urine tests with shorter timelines.
• Difficult to manipulate: Tampering with a hair drug test proves challenging, ensuring higher result accuracy.
• Reveals historical trends: Offers a timeline of drug usage, not merely recent consumption.

Limitations:

• Inability to detect recent use: Drugs become detectable in hair following approximately 5-7 days.
• Expense: Hair drug exams are typically pricier than alternative testing approaches.
• Result variations: Variables like hair pigmentation and growth rate might influence drug metabolite concentration.

Note: Commonly dubbed "hair follicle tests", the analysis actually examines the hair shaft, excluding the hair follicle beneath the scalp.

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

Hair follicle testing offers distinct advantages over traditional urine tests. Its superior detection capability captures substance use over longer periods, making it a reliable method in Orient, IL. While urine tests are limited to detecting recent use, hair tests provide a broader historical perspective, ensuring enhanced accuracy in identifying regular or sporadic drug use cases.

Extended Detection Window

One of the notable benefits of hair follicle tests is their ability to detect drug use over an extended period, up to 90 days. This trait offers employers in Orient, IL invaluable insight into an individual's consistent vs. occasional substance use habits. Such comprehensive detection provides a reliable profile of substance use, assisting in more informed decision-making.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

Hair follicle tests offer significant resistance against tampering. In Orient, IL, these tests minimize the risk of sample alteration, ensuring authentic results. The method's design has built-in safeguards against common tampering methods, thus providing unquestionable reliability and trust in the data obtained, enhancing security and compliance measures.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

With a widespread network of testing centers, Accredited Drug Testing ensures that individuals in Orient, IL can access services promptly. The convenience of nationwide facilities guarantees hassle-free and efficient testing processes, eliminating hurdles and ensuring that drug testing is easily accessible to everyone, regardless of location.

Simple, Confidential Process

Our drug testing process in Orient, IL is straightforward and respects privacy. From ordering a test to obtaining results, the procedure is designed for confidentiality, addressing any concerns clients might have about security and ease of use. This seamless process offers peace of mind while delivering accurate, timely outcomes.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Accredited Drug Testing provides competitive pricing structures alongside quick result turnover, ensuring excellent value. Companies in Orient, IL, regardless of size, benefit from our cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality, leading to not only financial savings but also enhanced peace of mind and operational efficiency.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

The advantages of hair follicle testing lie in its speed and accuracy. Unlike other methods, this test is capable of delivering results quickly, making it a preferred choice for timely assessments in Orient, IL. Its ability to identify even low levels of substance use accurately ensures that employers and authorities receive reliable information without delay.
Hair testing stands out for its precision, critical in environments where fast and accurate results are a necessity.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

Adopting hair follicle tests helps employers in Orient, IL achieve compliance with drug-free workplace policies. By employing this method, companies can reduce potential legal liabilities and maintain a safe working environment. Such peace of mind for employers contributes significantly to organizational safety and trust, enhancing overall workplace health.

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What's New In Hair Follicle Drug Testing according to the Hair Drug Testing Experts

With its multidisciplinary nature, hair testing brings together researchers, scientists, and experts from various domains to develop innovative techniques, explore new methodologies, and address emerging concerns, responding to the ever-evolving challenges of drug abuse, therapeutic drug monitoring, and environmental exposures to pollutants.

The joint meeting of the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) and the Italian Group of Forensic Toxicologists (GTFI) was organized in Verona, June 8–10, 2022, and hosted by the Legal Medicine team of the Verona University Hospital, directed by Franco Tagliaro together with Federica Bortolotti and Rossella Gottardo.

It served as a prominent platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration, facilitating groundbreaking advancements in hair testing and analysis. In this special issue of Drug Testing and Analysis, we aim to showcase the remarkable manuscripts presented at this significant event, shedding light on the latest research and highlighting the future directions in this field.

Novel Analytical Techniques: The Verona meeting witnessed the unveiling of cutting-edge analytical techniques, offering enhanced sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy for drug testing. Remarkable advancements in sample preparation, detection, and identification of drug compounds have been presented. The manuscripts in this section presented novel approaches, such as multianalyte methods and on-line preparation which can enable rapid analysis and improve thorough forensic investigations.

Biomarkers and Pharmacokinetics: The identification and validation of reliable biomarkers and pharmacokinetic studies are fundamental aspects of drug testing and analysis. The impact of hair treatments on the oxidation/decomposition of drugs in hair was also explored, as the long-term fate of drugs incorporated in the keratin matrix. Furthermore, the SoHT meeting in Verona featured research on the identification and quantification of alcohol abuse biomarkers, their stability, and their correlation with exposure and other biomarkers.

Forensic Applications and Interpretation: One of the vital objectives of hair testing is its application in forensic investigations and legal proceedings. The SoHT meeting in Verona emphasized the significance of rigorous interpretation of analytical results and the need for standardized protocols. Manuscripts in this section present advancements in forensic toxicology, and have explored the challenges posed by emerging designer drugs and strategies to combat their proliferation. The pitfalls encountered when the exogenous/endogenous nature of a substance is questioned were presented and discussed. The special issue presents also manuscripts that delve into the ethical implications of drug testing in drug facilitated sexual assaults.

Clinical Applications of hair testing are witnessed by the insight on environmental tobacco smoke exposure, assessed by hair analysis in a population of students and the study of in utero-exposure to drugs of abuse through neonatal hair analysis. Exposure to drugs was also important in cases of child abuse/neglect, when the clinical purpose of hair testing merge with its forensic applications.

The legal framework surrounding hair testing and the achievement of guidelines to ensure fairness, accuracy, and confidentiality in drug testing practices have also been discussed,and the SoHT consensus on general hair testing and testing for drugs of abuse was presented at the meeting and published as a Letter to the Editor.

In conclusion, the special issue of Drug Testing and Analysis, featuring manuscripts from the SoHT–GTFI meeting in Verona 2022, reflects the remarkable advancements achieved in this field. The manuscripts provide valuable insights into novel analytical techniques, biomarkers, pharmacokinetics, forensic applications, and ethical considerations. As we embrace these advancements, we pave the way for a safer, healthier society, where drug testing and analysis serve as powerful tools in protecting public health and maintaining integrity in various sectors. The research presented in this special issue will undoubtedly shape the future of drug testing and analysis, fostering collaboration and inspiring further innovation in this crucial area of scientific inquiry.

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