Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing is increasingly regarded as an effective method for detecting drug and alcohol consumption. Hair captures a comprehensive record of alcohol and drug use by embedding biomarkers within the strands of hair as it grows. When collected near the scalp, hair can offer up to around a 3-month detection range for alcohol and drug use. Hair collection is straightforward, less prone to tampering, and convenient for transport.
A 1.5-inch section of about 200 strands of hair (approximately the size of a #2 pencil) closest to the scalp provides 100mg of hair, considered the ideal sample for initial screening and subsequent confirmation. For EtG, additional tests, and/or assessments exceeding 10 panels, a 150mg specimen is advisable. We suggest weighing the sample using a jeweler’s scale. Should scalp hair be absent, an equivalent amount of body hair is permissible. Head hair refers solely to scalp hair here. Body hair encompasses all other types (such as facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
There are four key steps in processing a drug test result in the lab: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning entails initially processing a sample in a lab’s system. This step includes checking that the sample was properly sealed and sent, assigning a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any required supplementary data input not part of an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening consists of a preliminary rapid check for drug presence. While Screening is a cost-effective technique to rule out drug use in the majority of cases, a positive screening result must be validated for court admissibility. Any sample assumed positive in Screening requires further confirmation.
In instances where a sample is assumed positive during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the specimen for Extraction. In this phase, drugs are extracted from hair at much lower levels than other testing methods (like urine or oral fluid), making hair drug testing more challenging to conduct.
Positive screening confirmations occur via GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All assumed positive samples undergo washing before confirmation as necessary. The complete lab process from Accessioning to Confirmation undergoes review per both CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and ISO / IEC 17025 standards accreditation.
Benefits of hair drug testing:
Drawbacks:
Note: Although often labeled as "hair follicle tests," the test examines the hair strand rather than the follicle beneath the scalp.
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