Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair analysis has become recognized as an effective method for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair offers a comprehensive timeline for alcohol and drugs by capturing indicators within the hair shaft as it grows. When obtained near the scalp, hair can reflect up to a 90-day timeframe for alcohol and drug usage. Hair collection is straightforward, challenging to tamper with, and convenient to transport.
A 1.5-inch hair sample of around 200 strands closest to the scalp, roughly equivalent to a #2 pencil, provides 100mg, the optimal amount for testing and verification. For EtG enhancements and tests exceeding 10 panels, 150mg is advised. It's suggested to weigh the sample using a jeweler’s scale. If head hair isn't available, a similar quantity of body hair can be used. Head hair refers strictly to scalp hair, while body hair encompasses other types (like facial and axillary hair).
Process Overview
The laboratory processing of a drug test result involves four primary steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning is the initial step of processing a sample into the laboratory’s system. This step includes verifying the sample seal and shipment, assigning a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any supplementary data entry absent from an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening involves a preliminary assessment for the presence of drugs. Though Screening serves as an economical approach to exclude drug use in most samples, a positive Screening result requires further confirmation for legal acceptance. Samples showing a preliminary positive in Screening necessitate additional confirmation.
Should a sample show a preliminary positive in the Screening phase, additional hair is taken from the original sample for Extraction. In Extraction, drugs are separated from hair at significantly lower concentrations compared to other methods (such as urine or oral fluid), which makes hair drug testing more intricate to conduct.
GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS methods perform Confirmation of any positive Screening results. All samples with a presumptive positive are cleansed before confirmation as needed. The complete process from Accessioning to Confirmation is executed under the oversight of both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and the ISO / IEC 17025 accreditation standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: Although commonly termed "hair follicle tests", the analysis examines the hair strand, not the follicle beneath the scalp.
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