Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing has emerged as a formidable method for unveiling drug and alcohol consumption. Hair can encapsulate a prolonged timeline of substance use by embedding biomarkers within the strands as the hair grows. When hair is collected proximally to the scalp, it can yield a detection period of up to roughly 3 months for alcohol and various drugs. The collection of hair is straightforward, challenging to tamper with, and convenient for transport.
A 1.5-inch portion consisting of about 200 hair strands (approximating the thickness of a #2 pencil) nearest to the scalp will produce 100mg of hair, which is the optimal amount for both screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional testing, or tests exceeding 10 panels, a 150mg sample is advisable. It is recommended to measure the specimen with a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair is not accessible, a comparable quantity of body hair may be utilized. When discussing head hair, it pertains exclusively to scalp hair. Body hair encompasses all other hair types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The primary stages in a laboratory for processing a drug test result are Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning concerns the preliminary incorporation of a specimen into a laboratory’s framework. This step verifies the sample's seal and shipment integrity, assigns a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and fulfills any supplementary data entry absent from an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening is an expedient method to identify drugs of abuse. Utilizing Screening is cost-effective for excluding drug use in most samples; however, a positive result necessitates confirmation to be legally recognized. All samples with presumptive positive results in Screening require secondary confirmation.
If the Screening phase indicates a presumptive positive, additional hair is gathered from the initial sample and readied for Extraction. This phase isolates drugs from hair at a significantly lower concentration compared to alternative methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), highlighting the complexity of hair drug testing.
Positive Screening results are validated using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples with presumptive positives are cleansed prior to confirmation, as required. The comprehensive laboratory procedure, from Accessioning to Confirmation, is conducted under the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and complies with ISO / IEC 17025 standards.
Benefits of hair drug testing:
Drawbacks:
Note: Although some may refer to them as "hair follicle tests", the analysis actually involves the hair strand, not the follicle beneath the scalp
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Bucktail, NE
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