Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair examinations have gained recognition as a potent means for uncovering alcohol and drug consumption. Hair offers an extensive timeline of drug and alcohol use by capturing biomarkers within the fibers of the developing hair shaft. When gathered near the scalp, hair can reveal a detection timeframe of up to about three months for various substances. It's easy to gather, somewhat resistant to tampering, and convenient to transport.
A 1.5-inch sample consisting of roughly 200 hair strands (comparable to the girth of a #2 pencil) nearest to the scalp will yield 100mg of hair, the optimum quantity for both screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional analyses, and/or tests beyond 10 panels, 150mg of the sample is advisable. We advise weighing the sample with a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair isn't feasible, a similar volume of body hair can be taken. Head hair pertains solely to scalp hair, while body hair encompasses all other types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The laboratory processing of a drug test result encompasses four primary steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning is the preliminary step involving the incorporation of a sample into a lab’s system. This covers verifying the sample’s proper sealing and shipping, assigning a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and filling in any missing data not covered by an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening entails a rapid initial assessment for substances of abuse. Although Screening is an economical way to exclude drug use in most samples, a positive screen necessitates confirmation to be valid legally. Samples that test presumptively positive during Screening require further confirmation.
If a sample shows presumptive positivity at the Screening stage, additional hair is taken from the initial batch and prepped for Extraction. At this phase, drugs are isolated from hair at a considerably lower concentration compared to other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), which makes hair drug screening a challenging methodology to execute.
Confirmation of a positive screening outcome occurs via GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples that show presumptive positivity are washed prior to final confirmation if needed. From Accessioning through Confirmation, the whole lab process is assessed under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair classification and accreditation to ISO / IEC 17025 standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: While commonly termed "hair follicle tests", the examination focuses on the hair shaft rather than the follicle beneath the scalp.
Hair follicle testing in Princeton, KY, surpasses urine tests in detection capacity and reliability. Its superior methodology ensures a higher accuracy rate and fewer false negatives.
Offering an unparalleled detection window, hair follicle tests in Princeton, KY, can reveal drug use for up to 90 days, providing employers with a comprehensive substance history.
In Princeton, KY, hair follicle testing stands out as a tamper-resistant method, significantly reducing the risk of sample adulteration. This ensures reliable results.
Our convenient nationwide and local testing locations in Princeton, KY, provide quick and easy accessibility to testing services.
The process of hair follicle testing in Princeton, KY, remains simple and confidential. From ordering to results, each step respects privacy and ease.
In Princeton, KY, our competitive pricing and swift turnaround make hair follicle testing both affordable and efficient, offering peace of mind to businesses of all sizes.
In Princeton, KY, hair follicle drug tests offer rapid and accurate results. Their precision and reliability in detecting substance use are unmatched, providing a trustworthy measure of compliance.
Employers in Princeton, KY, benefit from hair follicle testing by maintaining compliance with drug-free workplace policies. This approach reduces legal risks and enhances safety.