Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Oak Valley, KS

What it is, How it works

Hair testing has emerged as an effective means for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair captures and retains biomarker evidence within the expanding fibers of the hair strand, thus offering a chronicled record of substance use. When gathered near the scalp, such a sample can encompass a detection timespan of nearly three months for various substances. The collection process for hair is straightforward, it's comparatively hard to tamper with, and it's convenient for shipping.

A 1.5-inch portion with approximately 200 hairs (roughly akin to the thickness of a #2 pencil) close to the scalp yields 100mg, which is the optimal sample size for both screening and confirmation. In scenarios involving EtG, supplementary tests, or panels beyond ten, collecting up to 150mg of hair is suggested. It's advisable to use a jeweler's scale for precise weighing of the sample. Should scalp hair be insufficient, equivalent amounts of body hair can be enlisted. The term “head hair” specifically pertains to scalp-origin hair, as opposed to “body hair,” which includes all other hair varieties, such as facial and axillary hair.

Process Overview

The processing of drug tests in laboratories involves four critical steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

During Accessioning, a sample is introduced into the lab's system, which entails confirming that it was properly sealed and sent, assigning it a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and finalizing any missing data entry absent from an electronic chain of custody platform.

Screening serves as a preliminary assessment for potential drug involvement. While it provides a cost-efficient means to weed out drug use among most samples, those with positive screenings must undergo confirmation before being considered for legal matters. Samples showing a positive screen at this stage require further confirmation.

Once a specimen registers as presumptively positive during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the initial sample to prepare for Extraction. The Extraction phase involves isolating drug components at much lower concentrations than other methods like urine or saliva testing, underscoring the complexity of hair drug analysis.

Confirmations follow for any positive screenings, utilizing techniques like GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. Samples flagged as presumptive positives are pre-washed if necessary before these confirmatory procedures. The entire sequence from Accessioning to Confirmation undergoes scrutiny against both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair criteria and the ISO / IEC 17025 certification standards.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Extended detection period: Hair drug tests can identify drug consumption for up to 90 days, a period longer than urine tests offer.
• Cheating challenges: Due to the complexity of faking results, hair drug tests yield more reliable data.
• Chronological usage insight: Hair tests can illustrate a user’s drug patterns over time, rather than merely recent consumption.

Limitations:

• Recent use evasion: Detecting newly ingested drugs in hair requires around 5 to 7 days.
• Expense: Hair drug analysis typically incurs higher costs than alternative testing measures.
• Result variability: Elements such as hair pigmentation and individual growth variations can influence drug metabolite concentrations in hair.

Note: Commonly dubbed as "hair follicle tests", the evaluation targets the hair strand itself, not the follicle beneath the scalp.

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

In Oak Valley, KS, hair follicle testing surpasses urine tests by offering more accurate and trustworthy detection of drugs over extended periods. Compared to traditional urine tests, hair analysis ensures better screening by revealing substance use history over a longer timeline, thus granting a clearer picture of an individual's patterns.

Extended Detection Window

Hair follicle testing in Oak Valley, KS, provides an extended detection window. Unlike other methods, it can trace drug use up to 90 days prior, offering employers a thorough understanding of an individual's substance history that stretches far beyond recent weeks.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

Oak Valley, KS, benefits significantly from the tamper-resistant nature of hair follicle tests. This method reduces the risk of sample alteration, guaranteeing results that are both reliable and unchallengeable, thus ensuring the integrity of the drug testing process.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

Convenient nationwide testing centers offer ease of access to services, both locally and nationwide. Oak Valley, KS, boasts testing locations that simplify the process, enabling swift, straightforward, and hassle-free drug testing experiences at numerous centers.

Simple, Confidential Process

In Oak Valley, KS, the drug testing process incorporates a simple and confidential system. Users can easily order, take the test, and receive results, with privacy being a priority. This seamless approach addresses privacy concerns, ensuring a user-friendly experience.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Our competitive pricing and quick turnaround times deliver exceptional value in Oak Valley, KS. Companies of all sizes benefit from affordable pricing structures, ensuring that their drug testing needs are met efficiently and effectively, granting peace of mind.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

The precision and speed of hair follicle drug tests in Oak Valley, KS, highlight their high accuracy in identifying substance use. Their ability to provide fast and reliable results makes them a preferred choice for many. This method offers quick and efficient insights, facilitating timely decision-making in various settings.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

Employers in Oak Valley, KS, achieve compliance and peace of mind using hair follicle tests. This testing approach aligns with workplace drug-free policies, mitigating legal concerns and bolstering workplace safety through effective drug screening that employers can trust.

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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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