Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Sabinal, NM

What it is, How it works

Seen as a potent method, hair testing efficiently identifies drug and alcohol consumption. Hair traps biomarkers within its fibers, offering a comprehensive timeline of substance use, capturing up to a 3-month detection period when gathered near the scalp. Easy to collect and hard to tamper with, hair samples are also straightforward to transport.

A 1.5-inch section of roughly 200 hair strands (similar to a #2 pencil in size) gathered from the scalp provides 100mg of hair, ideal for both screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional, and/or more complex tests beyond 10 panels, 150mg is preferred. To ensure precision, weigh the sample using a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair isn’t accessible, a comparable quantity of body hair is acceptable. Note that "head hair" refers exclusively to scalp hair, whereas "body hair" encompasses other types (facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The laboratory process for a drug test result predominantly includes four phases: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning initiates the processing of a sample within the lab's system. It entails ensuring the sample's proper sealing and shipment, assigning a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any extra data entry that an electronic chain of custody system doesn’t cover.

Screening performs a preliminary analysis for common drug substances. Although it offers an economical method to exclude drug use in many samples, any positive screen must be validated to hold up in legal settings. Samples displaying presumptive positives during Screening require further confirmation.

For samples showing presumptive positives at Screening, more hair is extracted from the main sample and prepped for Extraction. In this phase, drugs are isolated from the hair at significantly lower concentrations in comparison to other techniques (e.g., urine or oral fluid), which is why hair drug testing ranks as one of the most challenging methodologies.

Positive screenings are confirmed using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS methods. All samples indicating presumptive positives are cleansed before confirmation as necessary. The entire lab process, from Accessioning to Confirmation, adheres to both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and ISO / IEC 17025 standards.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Extended detection period: Hair tests can reveal drug use over 90 days, superior to the shorter detection span of urine tests.
• Difficult to manipulate: The accuracy of hair drug tests is high due to the challenge in falsifying results.
• Chronological drug use data: This test provides patterns of drug usage over time, not only recent consumption.

Limitations:

• Inadequate for recent use detection: Drugs become noticeable in hair roughly 5-7 days after use.
• Expense: Hair drug tests tend to be pricier than other testing methodologies.
• Result variability: Hair color and individual growth differences can impact drug metabolite levels in hair.

Note: Despite the term "hair follicle tests", the analysis actually involves the hair strand, not the follicle under the scalp

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

Hair follicle testing surpasses traditional urine analysis by offering extended detection periods and reliability. In Sabinal, NM, it guarantees enhanced precision, capturing a broader spectrum of substance use that urine tests might fail to reveal.

Extended Detection Window

Employers in Sabinal, NM benefit from hair follicle testing's extended detection window, reaching up to 90 days. This feature offers a comprehensive record of an individual's substance use, aiding in more informed hiring and monitoring decisions.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

Hair follicle tests in Sabinal, NM significantly mitigate the risk of sample tampering, ensuring trustworthy results. This robustness provides peace of mind to both employers and authorities demanding high integrity in their testing protocols.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

Accredited Drug Testing prioritizes convenience with nationwide centers, including Sabinal, NM, ensuring easy access to services. Locals benefit from swift, seamless testing, aligning with busy schedules and immediate needs.

Simple, Confidential Process

The hair follicle testing process in Sabinal, NM is both simple and confidential, from ordering to receiving results. Privacy and user-friendliness are paramount, ensuring a non-intrusive, secure experience for all clients.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Our affordable pricing and fast turnaround times offer excellent value in Sabinal, NM. Businesses of any size benefit from competitive rates, ensuring budget-friendly solutions without compromising on service speed or quality.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

In Sabinal, NM, hair follicle drug tests provide swift, precise, and reliable results, highlighting their superior accuracy in identifying substance use. The method's high detection accuracy surpasses other techniques, making it an invaluable tool in ensuring drug-free environments.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

Employers in Sabinal, NM achieve compliance and tranquility with hair follicle testing. It underpins adherence to drug-free policies, reducing litigation risks and fostering safer work environments, crucial for operational integrity.

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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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