Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Rodessa, LA

What it is, How it works

Utilizing hair testing has increasingly proven its effectiveness in identifying drug and alcohol consumption. By embedding biomarkers within the strands of hair as it grows, hair can reveal a comprehensive account of substance use over an extended period. When procured near the scalp, it offers a detection period of nearly three months for alcohol and drugs. Collecting hair is straightforward, hard to tamper with, and easy to transport.

A sample of 1.5 inches, consisting of about 200 strands (comparable to the size of a #2 pencil), close to the scalp yields 100mg, which is optimal for analysis. For EtG, additional tests, and/or panels exceeding 10, 150mg of the sample is advisable. It's suggested to use a jeweler’s scale for specimen measurement. In the absence of scalp hair, an equivalent volume of body hair is adequate. When mentioning head hair, it strictly pertains to scalp hair. Body hair encompasses all other types (such as facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The laboratory processing of a drug test result consists of four crucial steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning pertains to the initial stage of integrating a sample into the lab’s procedures. It involves ensuring the sample’s sealing and correct shipment, generating a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and finalizing any additional data entry absent in an electronic chain of custody system.

Screening acts as a preliminary examination for substance misuse. Though economical in potentially dismissing drug use in the majority of cases, a positive screen must be corroborated for legal admissibility. Any samples with a tentative positive result in Screening necessitate further verification.

Should a sample yield a presumptive positive in Screening, additional hair is retrieved from the primary sample for Extraction. In this part, drugs are drawn from the hair at notably lower concentrations relative to methods like urine or oral fluid, lending difficulty to hair drug testing.

Confirmation of any positive screening output is executed through GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples needing a presumptive positive confirmation are cleansed beforehand if required. The entire sequence from Accessioning to Confirmation undergoes scrutiny under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and ISO / IEC 17025 standard accreditation.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Extended detection period: Hair testing can report drug use up to 90 days, offering a longer spectrum compared to urine tests.
• Challenging to falsify: Its complexity to falsify ensures more reliable outcomes.
• Delivers historical insights: Offers a detailed history of drug use over time instead of merely focusing on recent consumption.

Limitations:

• Non-viable for immediate detection: It requires approximately 5-7 days before drugs can be identified in hair.
• Expense: Generally demands more financial input compared to alternative drug testing techniques.
• Result variability: Influences such as hair color and individual hair growth differences can alter drug metabolite levels in hair.

Note: Although commonly termed "hair follicle tests", the procedure analyzes the hair strand rather than the follicle beneath the scalp

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

Hair follicle testing in Rodessa, LA, outshines traditional urine tests by offering enhanced accuracy and dependability. With an extended detection window and reduced risk of tampering, hair tests assure superior insight into drug use, outperforming urine tests in terms of reliability and precision.

Extended Detection Window

Rodessa, LA, benefits from hair follicle testing's extensive detection period, identifying substance use over up to 90 days. This prolonged window grants employers a thorough examination of an individual’s substance history, ensuring well-informed hiring and retention decisions.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

In Rodessa, LA, the hair follicle test greatly diminishes tampering risks, offering confident and reliable results. Its challenging nature to alter or adulterate the sample underpins its integrity, setting a high standard for drug testing methods.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

Our nationwide testing centers, including locations in Rodessa, LA, endorse convenience with seamless access to necessary testing services. Quick and hassle-free, these centers provide an efficient way to meet testing requirements comfortably.

Simple, Confidential Process

In Rodessa, LA, the process of hair follicle testing is both straightforward and confidential. Ensuring privacy and ease, the procedure encompasses simple steps for ordering, taking, and receiving results, addressing any client's privacy concerns.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Offering competitive pricing and swift results, Rodessa, LA, benefits from our hair follicle testing. Fast turnaround times and affordable structures provide tremendous value, meeting the needs of businesses of every size.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

In Rodessa, LA, hair follicle drug tests promise quick and accurate outcomes. Notable for their precision, these tests efficiently identify substances with remarkable accuracy. Unlike other methods, hair testing minimizes false negatives and false positives, providing reliable results that empower informed decisions.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

Employers in Rodessa, LA, experience peace of mind with hair follicle testing, ensuring compliance with drug-free policies. Reducing legal risks and elevating workplace safety, this method supports businesses in maintaining a secure and lawful environment.

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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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