Hair Follicle Drug Testing - South Bend, NE

What it is, How it works

Hair testing serves as a vital instrument in revealing drug and alcohol consumption. Hair archives a comprehensive record of alcohol and drug interactions by capturing biomarkers within its fibers as the hair grows. When collected near the scalp, hair can offer an approximate 3-month window of detection for alcohol and other substances. Hair is straightforward to collect, not easily tampered with, and convenient to transport.

A 1.5-inch block consisting of around 200 hair strands (roughly equivalent to the size of a #2 pencil) nearest to the scalp will yield 100mg of hair, the optimal amount for both screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional tests, and/or panels exceeding 10, 150mg of the sample is advisable. Using a jeweler’s scale for measuring the specimen is suggested. If scalp hair is inaccessible, an equivalent portion of body hair may be taken. When referencing head hair, we specifically mean scalp hair. Body hair encompasses all other hair types (facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The laboratory processing of a drug test outcome comprises four primary steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning includes the preliminary processing of a specimen into a lab’s system. This step ensures that the sample was correctly sealed and dispatched, allocates a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and finalizes any supplementary data entry absent in an electronic chain of custody system.

Screening constitutes a rapid, preliminary assessment for drugs of misuse. While Screening is an economical approach to discard drug use in most cases, a positive screen has to be verified for legal acceptability. Any presumptively positive samples in Screening require a follow-up confirmation.

Should a sample be presumptively positive at the Screening stage, additional hair is extracted from the initial sample and readied for Extraction. Here, drugs are extracted from hair at much lower concentrations than in other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), making hair drug analysis the most challenging method to execute.

Confirmation of any positive screening finding is performed through GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All presumptive positive samples undergo washing prior to confirmation if necessary. The complete laboratory procedure from Accessioning to Confirmation is scrutinized under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and the ISO / IEC 17025 accreditation standards.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Extended detection period: Hair drug tests can identify drug use for up to 90 days, as opposed to urine tests which cover a shorter duration.
• Difficulty of evasion: Hair drug tests are challenging to evade, ensuring more reliable outcomes.
• Offers historical insight: It can display a pattern of drug consumption over time, not mere recent usage.

Limitations:

• Inability to detect recent consumption: Approximately 5-7 days are needed for drugs to be detectable in hair.
• Expense: Generally, hair drug tests are pricier than alternative drug testing techniques.
• Result variations: Variables like hair color and individual differences in hair growth may influence drug metabolite concentrations in the hair.

Note: Although often termed "hair follicle tests", the test itself examines the hair shaft rather than the follicle beneath the scalp

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

In South Bend, NE, hair follicle tests surpass urine tests due to their superior detection capacity. Hair tests are less prone to errors or tampering, thus ensuring more reliable outcomes. Furthermore, their longer detection window provides a more comprehensive assessment of substance use history, making them a fit choice over traditional methods.

Extended Detection Window

One of the major advantages of hair follicle tests in South Bend, NE, is the extended detection window. They can uncover drug use up to 90 days back. This extensive timeframe offers employers an in-depth look at an individual's history with substances, which isn't possible with standard tests that provide a brief snapshot.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

In South Bend, NE, hair follicle tests offer a tamper-resistant method for evaluating drug use. This reduces the risk of sample adulteration significantly, delivering results you can trust. The secure nature of these tests ensures that the findings remain undisputed and valid.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

In South Bend, NE, and across the nation, the convenience of numerous testing centers makes access to hair follicle drug tests straightforward. Our extensive network guarantees you can locate a center nearby, facilitating quick and easy testing without the hassle of long-distance travel.

Simple, Confidential Process

Conducting a hair follicle drug test in South Bend, NE, involves a simple, confidential process. From ordering to receiving results, every step is streamlined, ensuring privacy and ease of use. You can be confident in the discretion and professional handling of your testing experience.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

With affordable pricing and a fast turnaround, drug testing in South Bend, NE, provides exceptional value for businesses. These cost-effective solutions ensure you get precise results quickly, contributing to both effective policy management and fiscal prudence.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

The hair follicle drug tests in South Bend, NE, offer fast, accurate, and reliable results. With advanced technology, these tests provide precise data, effectively pinpointing substance use over time. You can trust that the results are dependable, helping inform crucial decisions based on factual evidence.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

For employers in South Bend, NE, using hair follicle testing can ensure peace of mind through compliance with federal and company drug-free policies. Reducing the risk of litigation, these tests promote workplace safety and uphold legal standards while safeguarding against potential legal complications.

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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.

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