Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair evaluations have emerged as a potent resource for identifying substance and alcohol consumption. Hair offers a prolonged chronology of alcohol and drugs by embedding biomarkers within the strands of the maturing hair. When taken near the scalp, hair can present a detection timeframe of up to around 3 months for alcohol and various drugs. Hair is straightforward to gather, somewhat challenging to tamper with, and straightforward to transport.
A slice of hair measuring 1.5 inches from approximately 200 strands (comparable to a #2 pencil's width) nearest to the scalp will yield 100mg of hair, the optimal amount for assessment and confirmation. For EtG, supplementary analyses, and/or examinations exceeding 10 panels, 150mg of the sample is suggested. We advocate using a jeweler’s scale for specimen weighing. In the absence of scalp hair, a comparable quantity of body hair may be chosen. When denoting head hair, it solely pertains to scalp hair, while body hair encompasses all other varieties (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Outline
The four central phases encapsulated in the lab processing of a drug test are Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning constitutes the preliminary handling of a sample into a lab's framework. This process involves authenticating the sample’s sealing and appropriate dispatch, allocating a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any supplementary data input not transacted through an electronic custody chain.
Screening entails an initial swift evaluation for drug abuse. While Screening offers a budget-friendly mechanism to dismiss drug intake for most samples, a positive result necessitates substantiation to be acknowledged in court. Any samples with a presumptive positive in Screening necessitate an additional confirmation.
Should a sample be presumptively positive during Screening, more hair is extracted from the initial sample and readied for Extraction. Within this phase, drugs are pulled from hair at a relatively low concentration in comparison to other techniques (e.g., urine or oral fluid), which renders hair drug screening the most intricate technique to execute.
Confirmation of any positive screening is performed using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All presumptive positives undergo a cleansing process prior to confirmation if needed. The comprehensive lab operation from Accessioning to Confirmation is supervised under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair classification and the endorsement to ISO / IEC 17025 criteria.
Benefits of hair drug assessments:
Constraints:
Note: Although often coined as "hair follicle evaluations", the evaluation itself scrutinizes the hair strand and not the follicle beneath the scalp.
Hair testing outshines urine testing
Enhanced reliability and detection
Prolonged detection window benefits
Strengthened screening capabilities
A tamper-proof testing solution
Ensuring trust and confidence
Accessible testing locations
Navigating logistics with ease
A straightforward process
Confidentiality remains paramount
Competitive pricing and quick turnaround
Value-driven solutions
Speed and precision define hair follicle tests
Reliable detection methods
Securing workplace compliance
Enhanced workplace safety