Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Stockville, NE

What it is, How it works

Recognized as a significant resource in identifying drug and alcohol consumption, hair testing offers insight into substance use over extended periods by capturing biomarkers within the strands of developing hair. When hair is sampled near the scalp, it offers an approximate 3-month window to detect alcohol and drug use. Hair collection is straightforward, challenging to tamper with, and simple to transport.

Gathering a 1.5-inch segment of about 200 hair strands (similar in width to a #2 pencil) nearest the scalp provides 100mg of hair, which is the optimal sample size for preliminary and confirmatory testing. For EtG, extended panels, and tests exceeding 10 panels, a specimen weighing 150mg is advisable. We suggest using a jeweler’s scale for precise measurement. In the absence of scalp hair, a comparable quantity of body hair can be used. When referring to head hair, it specifically means scalp hair. Body hair denotes all other hair types (facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The laboratory processing of a drug test result encompasses four core phases: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning entails the initial integration of a specimen into a lab's system, ensuring the sample is sealed and transported correctly, assigning a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any additional data entry not provided by an electronic chain of custody system.

Screening consists of an initial rapid evaluation for substance abuse. While Screening provides a cost-effective method to eliminate drug use in the majority of cases, a positive screen requires confirmation for legal admissibility. Samples that are suspected positive in Screening necessitate further confirmation.

In instances where a sample is suspected positive during Screening, additional hair is drawn from the main specimen for Extraction. During Extraction, drugs are obtained from hair in significantly lower concentrations compared to other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), which makes hair drug testing the most challenging technique to execute.

Any positive screening outcome undergoes confirmation via GC/MS, GC/MS/MS or LC/MS/MS. All samples suspected positive are washed before confirmation when necessary. The comprehensive lab process from Accessioning to Confirmation is reviewed under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair classification and the accreditation to ISO / IEC 17025 standards.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Lengthy detection period: Hair drug tests can reveal drug use for up to 90 days, while urine tests typically offer a shorter detection duration.
• Hard to compromise: Cheating on a hair drug test is extremely difficult, thereby enhancing result accuracy.
• Historic data provision: It can display a history of drug use over time, not just recent consumption.

Limitations:

• Inability to detect recent use: Drugs generally become detectable in hair after about 5-7 days.
• Expenses: Hair drug tests are typically costlier than alternative drug testing methods.
• Result variations: Aspects such as hair color and individual hair growth differences can influence the concentration of drug metabolites in the hair.

Note: Although often termed as "hair follicle tests", the analysis is performed on the hair strand and not the hair follicle beneath the scalp

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

Why Hair Follicle Testing Reigns Supreme
Employers in Stockville, NE, seeking accurate and reliable drug screening find hair follicle testing to be superior to urine testing. The benefits include superior detection accuracy, a much longer detection window, and the inability for individuals to tamper with the results. Hair testing provides a broader scope of substance use history, offering peace of mind and assurance to employers.

Extended Detection Window

Extended Detection Window
Hair follicle testing in Stockville, NE, excels in identifying drug usage over extended periods, offering a detection window of up to 90 days. This span allows employers a thorough understanding of an individual's substance use history, playing a crucial role in hiring and retention decisions to ensure a drug-free workplace.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method
Stockville, NE, benefits from hair follicle tests that deliver reliable and accurate results, largely due to their tamper-resistant nature. This method significantly reduces the risk of adulterated samples, ensuring that the results are trustworthy and irrefutable, providing employers and legal authorities a robust method of verification.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

Convenient Testing Locations Nationwide
In Stockville, NE, accredited centers for hair follicle drug testing ensure convenience nationwide. Quick, easy, and stress-free access to testing facilities underscores our commitment to providing seamless services, no matter where the demand arises, ensuring testing is never an inconvenience.

Simple, Confidential Process

Simple and Confidential
In Stockville, NE, navigating the process of hair follicle testing is straightforward and confidential, from ordering to results. Protecting individual privacy and ensuring ease of use are paramount, offering peace and simplicity throughout the screening process for all involved.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Affordable Pricing with Rapid Results
In Stockville, NE, our hair follicle testing provides competitive pricing paired with swift result turnarounds. This combination ensures excellent value across businesses of any size, making it accessible and reasonable for companies focused on maintaining a drug-free workplace without financial strain.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

Precision and Speed of Hair Follicle Drug Tests
Hair follicle drug testing in Stockville, NE, known for its precision, offers fast and reliable results. This testing method provides unparalleled accuracy when identifying substance use, ensuring that employers and organizations receive the most trustworthy data possible. Its speed and precision make it a preferred choice over traditional testing methods.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

Compliance and Peace of Mind
By adopting hair follicle testing in Stockville, NE, employers establish a robust compliance footing with zero-tolerance drug policies. This testing method contributes to a safer workplace environment and mitigates legal risks, offering peace of mind through dependable drug-free policy enforcement.

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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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