Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Royal, NE

What it is, How it works

Seen as a smart tool, hair testing unveils drug and alcohol consumption through its capability to preserve biomarkers within the fibers of a developing hair strand. Collected near the scalp, this method offers insight into drug and alcohol use over a period of up to three months. With its straightforward collection, resistance to tampering, and ease of shipping, hair testing is advantageous.

A 1.5-inch hair sample, comprising around 200 strands (approximating the size of a #2 pencil) near the scalp, weighs 100mg, which is optimal for screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional services, and/or testing beyond 10 panels, a 150mg sample is advisable. It’s best to weigh the sample using a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair is unavailable, an equivalent portion of body hair may be taken. Reference to head hair pertains exclusively to scalp hair, whereas body hair encompasses all other varieties (facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The laboratory procedures entail four key steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning marks the inception of a sample’s processing in a lab system, ensuring proper sealing and shipping, allocating a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and finalizing any supplementary data not provided by an electronic chain of custody system.

Screening serves as a preliminary evaluation for drugs of misuse. Though cost-effective, a positive screen needs affirmation for court admissibility. Presumptive positives from Screening need secondary confirmation.

For presumptive positives detected in Screening, additional hair is sourced from the original sample for Extraction. This step extracts drugs from hair at concentrations significantly lower than other methods (such as urine or oral fluid), presenting a more challenging methodology for hair drug screening.

Positive screenings undergo Confirmation through methods like GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All presumptive positive samples receive a washing before confirmation as required. CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and ISO / IEC 17025 standards ensure a review of the laboratory process, from Accessioning through to Confirmation.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Extended detection period: Hair tests can reveal drug use spanning up to 90 days, whereas urine tests have a narrower detection frame.
• Resilience to manipulation: Cheating a hair drug test is extremely challenging, enhancing result authenticity.
• Tracks historical usage: Illuminates a pattern of drug consumption over a time frame, not just current use.

Limitations:

• Not indicative of recent use: Detecting drugs in hair typically requires 5 to 7 days.
• Expense: Hair tests usually incur higher costs than alternative drug testing methods.
• Result variability: Hair color and personal differences in hair growth might impact drug metabolite concentrations in hair.

Note: Often dubbed "hair follicle tests", the analysis targets the hair strand rather than the follicle itself under the scalp.

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Royal, NE: In a comparison of efficacy, hair follicle tests provide superior detection accuracy and reliability over traditional urine tests. While urine tests serve their purpose, hair tests expand the temporal view into a user's substance history, offering a robust measure that aids in enacting zero-tolerance policies and enhances decision-making processes.

Extended Detection Window

Extended Detection Window in Royal, NE: Hair follicle testing presents a significant advantage in its ability to trace drug use over an extended period — up to 90 days. This extensive detection window facilitates employers in assessing an individual's longstanding substance use patterns, offering clarity and insight that is unattainable with shorter-lived urine tests.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method in Royal, NE: One of the significant benefits of hair testing is its robust resistance to tampering. This testing method mitigates the risk of sample manipulation, which can be a concern with other testing types like urine. Hair tests provide reliable and incontrovertible results, increasing their trustworthiness and acceptance in professional settings.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

Convenient Nationwide Testing Locations and Local Locations in Royal, NE: Our extensive network of testing centers across the nation offers convenient access to necessary services. This structure ensures that testing is straightforward, quick, and accessible, significantly enhancing the feasibility of integrating consistent drug screening into business operations.

Simple, Confidential Process

Simple, Confidential Process in Royal, NE: The entire process, from ordering to receiving results, is streamlined and confidential. We address privacy and user-friendliness, ensuring that individuals and businesses experience a hassle-free procedure that respects confidentiality without compromising on ease of use.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Affordable Pricing and Fast Turnaround in Royal, NE: Our pricing is competitively structured, offering excellent value for companies of any size. Coupled with fast turnaround times, our services provide a winning combination of cost efficiency and rapid results delivery, granting peace of mind across the board.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results in Royal, NE: Leveraging the precision of hair follicle drug tests, our laboratories deliver rapid and accurate results. The technology provides a highly reliable identification of substance use, ensuring tests are both speedy and thorough. This method is highly adept at producing trustable data, making it indispensable in situations requiring quick turnarounds.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers in Royal, NE: Using hair follicle tests aids businesses in maintaining compliance with drug-free workplace policies. This practice significantly lowers legal risks and elevates workplace safety, providing thorough assurance to employers striving to create a secure and responsible environment.

Drug Testing Near Royal, NE

Elgin, NE

Foster, NE

Center, NE

Inman, NE

Oakdale, NE

Verdigre, NE

Plainview, NE

Bazile Mills, NE

Page, NE

Winnetoon, NE

Neligh, NE

Creighton, NE

Ewing, NE

Clearwater, NE

Brunswick, NE

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Customer Reviews