Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair analysis has emerged as an effective means for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair captures a historical record of alcohol and drug intake by embedding biomarkers within the fibers of growing hair. When acquired near the scalp, it offers up to a roughly 3-month period of detection for alcohol and drugs. Hair sample collection is straightforward, relatively tamper-proof, and uncomplicated to transport.
Taking a 1.5-inch segment of approximately 200 hair strands (equivalent in breadth to a #2 pencil) nearest to the scalp yields 100mg, the optimal quantity for both screening and confirmation. When dealing with EtG, add-ons, and/or panels exceeding 10, a 150mg sample is advisable. We suggest measuring the specimen with a jeweler's scale. If there's no scalp hair, a comparable volume of body hair can be used. 'Head hair' refers specifically to scalp hair, while 'body hair' includes all other types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The major stages in lab-based processing of a drug test result include Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning concerns the initial handling of a specimen within a lab's framework. This phase ensures the sample was correctly sealed and shipped, assigns a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completes additional data input unprovided by an electronic custody system.
Screening entails a preliminary rapid evaluation for substance misuse. While Screening is an economical method for excluding drug use in most samples, confirmed positive screens are needed for court validity. Any samples Indicatively positive at Screening need further confirmation.
In instances where a specimen is provisionally positive during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the initial sample and readied for Extraction. At this phase, drugs are pulled from hair at significantly lower concentrations compared to other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), underscoring the complexity of hair drug testing.
Confirmation of any provisional positive screenings involves techniques such as GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. Before confirmation, every provisional positive sample undergoes washing as essential. The entire laboratory sequence from Accessioning to Confirmation is under review guided by both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and ISO / IEC 17025 accreditation.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: Despite being labeled "hair follicle tests", the test analyzes the hair strand itself, rather than the follicle beneath the scalp.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Cedar Creek Lake, TX
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