Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing is recognized as an effective method for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair captures a lengthy record of alcohol and drug use by retaining biomarkers in the fibers of the hair as it grows. Collected near the scalp, hair can offer a detection window of up to about three months for alcohol and other substances. It's easy to collect, challenging to tamper with, and straightforward to transport.
A 1.5-inch segment of approximately 200 hairs (about the diameter of a #2 pencil) near the scalp will yield 100mg of hair, which is the ideal quantity for screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional tests, and/or panels beyond 10, it's advised to gather 150mg of the sample. Utilizing a jeweler’s scale to weigh the sample is suggested. If scalp hair isn't available, a similar quantity of body hair can be used. The term head hair specifically refers to scalp hair. Body hair includes all other types (e.g., facial, axillary).
Process Overview
The laboratory processing of a drug test result primarily involves four steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning pertains to the initial integration of a sample into the laboratory's system. This step verifies the sample's proper sealing and shipment, assigns a random Laboratory Accessioning Number (LAN), and completes any additional data entry missing from an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening is a preliminary test for drugs of abuse. Although it is a cost-efficient method to eliminate drug usage in most samples, a positive screen must be confirmed to be legally acceptable. Any presumptive positive samples from Screening necessitate a follow-up confirmation.
Should Screening indicate a presumptive positive, additional hair is extracted from the initial sample for the Extraction phase. Here, drugs are extracted from hair at a significantly lower concentration than in other testing methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), which explains why hair drug testing is especially challenging.
Confirmation of any positive screenings is done using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS techniques. All presumptive positive samples undergo a washing procedure before confirmation if needed. The comprehensive laboratory procedure from Accessioning to Confirmation is evaluated under the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and adheres to the ISO / IEC 17025 standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: While commonly termed as "hair follicle tests", the procedure examines the hair strand rather than the follicle beneath the scalp.
Hair follicle testing surpasses traditional urine tests in Leasburg, NC. The advantages include marvelous detection reliability.
In Leasburg, NC, hair follicle testing's extended detection window is a major advantage.
Hair follicle tests in Leasburg, NC offer a tamper-resistant method.
Convenience in Leasburg, NC with nationwide centers is unmatched.
In Leasburg, NC, the process for hair follicle tests is simple and confidential.
Leasburg, NC offers affordable pricing for hair follicle tests with fast turnaround.
The precision and speed of hair follicle drug examinations in Leasburg, NC, are unmatched. These tests offer exceptional accuracy in identifying substance use.
Employers in Leasburg, NC gain compliance and peace of mind with hair follicle testing.