Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair analysis is increasingly recognized as a robust method for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. It offers an extended timeline of substance use by embedding biomarkers within the hair's growing fibers. When gathered near the scalp, hair can reveal substance usage within an approximate 3-month timeframe. It's easy to gather, challenging to tamper with, and convenient to transport.
A 1.5-inch length of about 200 hair strands (similar in thickness to a #2 pencil) next to the scalp yields approximately 100mg, which is optimal for both screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional tests, or assessments exceeding 10 panels, 150mg is advisable. It's best to weigh the sample using a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair isn't available, a comparable amount of body hair can be used. Scalp hair specifically refers to hair on the head, whereas body hair includes all other varieties (facial, axillary, etc.).
Procedure Overview
The laboratory examination of a drug test involves four primary stages: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning is about initially processing a sample within a lab's framework. This step confirms the sample's seal and proper handling, assigns a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completes any missing data entry from an electronic tracking system.
Screening is a rapid preliminary assessment for drugs of abuse. Although cost-efficient for eliminating drug usage in many cases, a positive outcome requires verification for legal validity. Samples that result in a presumptive positive during Screening necessitate additional confirmation.
Following a presumptively positive result during Screening, more hair is extracted from the original sample for the Extraction phase. In this phase, drugs are extracted at much lower concentrations than through other methodologies (e.g., urine or oral fluid), making hair drug tests particularly challenging.
Confirmation of any positive Screening result is determined using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS or LC/MS/MS. All presumptive positive samples undergo washing before confirmation if necessary. The entire lab process from Accessioning to Confirmation is scrutinized under the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair standards and aligns with ISO / IEC 17025 accreditation.
Benefits of hair drug testing:
Challenges:
Note: Despite being commonly referred to as "hair follicle tests", the analysis targets the hair strand and not the follicle beneath the scalp.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Woodbury, VT. Comparing hair follicle testing to traditional urine tests reveals superior detection capabilities and reliability.
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