Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair assessments are now recognized as a potent method for identifying drug and alcohol usage. Hair offers an extended history of alcohol and other substances by preserving biomarkers within the strands of the hair as it grows. When hair is clipped near the scalp, it offers an approximate detection timeframe of up to three months for alcohol and other substances. Hair collection is straightforward, relatively resistant to tampering, and simple to transport.
A hair sample measuring 1.5 inches consisting of around 200 strands (comparable to the size of a #2 pencil) closest to the scalp yields approximately 100mg of hair, which is the perfect amount for both screening and confirmation. For tests like EtG add-ons or those exceeding 10 panels, a sample weight of 150mg is suggested. We advise utilizing a jeweler’s scale for weighing the sample. In the absence of scalp hair, a matching amount of body hair can be taken. When discussing head hair, we specifically mean scalp hair, whereas body hair indicates all other hair categories (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The laboratory processing steps for obtaining a drug test result include Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning involves incorporating a sample into the laboratory system initially. This process includes checking the seal and shipping conditions of the sample, assigning it a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any remaining data entry that the electronic chain of custody system does not cover.
Screening consists of a preliminary examination for drug abuse substances. While Screening offers a cost-efficient method to rule out drug use for most samples, a positive screening result requires confirmation to be valid in court. Samples that are tentatively positive in Screening must undergo further confirmation.
Should a sample show tentative positivity in the Screening phase, additional hair is extracted from the initial sample for preparation for Extraction. At this phase, drugs are separated from the hair at a significantly lower concentration compared to other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), which is why hair drug testing stands out as the most intricate method to perform.
Confirmation of any positive screening result occurs using methods such as GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples with tentative positivity undergo a pre-confirmation wash as needed. The comprehensive process from Accessioning to Confirmation is scrutinized in line with both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair specifications and the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: While commonly called "hair follicle tests", the analysis focuses on the hair strand rather than the scalp-embedded hair follicle.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Rosemont, NE
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