Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing has gained recognition as an effective method for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair retains a chronological record of exposure to alcohol and drugs by capturing biomarkers in the growing hair fibers. When collected near the scalp, hair can offer an approximate 3-month detection window for both alcohol and drugs. Hair collection is straightforward, tampering is challenging, and shipping is hassle-free.
A 1.5-inch section comprising around 200 hair strands (about the same diameter as a #2 pencil) closest to the scalp yields 100mg of hair, the optimal sample size for screening and verification. For EtG, additional tests, and evaluations exceeding 10 panels, a 150mg sample is advisable. It's suggested to weigh the sample using a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair is unavailable, a comparable quantity of body hair might be substituted. “Head hair†denotes scalp hair specifically. “Body hair†applies to all other types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The four fundamental stages in laboratory drug test processing are Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning encompasses the initial steps of integrating a specimen into a laboratory system. This phase ensures the sample was properly sealed and shipped, assigns a random Laboratory Accessioning Number (LAN), and completes any extra data entry missing from an electronic chain of custody documentation.
Screening entails a quick preliminary check for substance abuse. Screening offers a cost-effective mechanism to identify drug usage across many samples; however, a positive result requires confirmation to be accepted in a legal setting. Samples suspected of being positive during Screening must undergo secondary confirmation.
If a sample is suspected of being positive during Screening, additional hair is retrieved from the initial sample and prepared for Extraction. In this phase, drugs are extracted from hair at a much lower concentration compared to other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), emphasizing why hair drug screening is notably complex.
Confirmed positive screening outcomes are validated via GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. Before confirmation, all presumptive positive samples undergo necessary washing. The comprehensive lab process from Accessioning to Confirmation is reviewed under both CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and accredited to ISO / IEC 17025 standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: Although commonly termed "hair follicle tests", the test evaluates the hair strand rather than the subscalp follicle.
Why Hair Tests Are Superior in Duck Hill, MS lies in its
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