Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Atlanta, WI

What it is, How it works

Hair testing is recognized as an effective means for detecting alcohol and drug use. Hair captures a long-term record of drugs and alcohol through biomarkers stored in the fibers of the growing hair strand. When gathered near the scalp, hair offers approximately a 90-day detection period for substances. Hair samples are easy to collect, challenging to tamper with, and straightforward to transport.

A 1.5-inch collection of around 200 hair strands (comparable to a #2 pencil's width) nearest to the scalp provides 100mg of hair, an optimal amount for screening and confirming tests. For EtG, additional tests, or tests exceeding 10 panels, a 150mg sample is advised. It is suggested to weigh the sample with a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair is unavailable, an equivalent measure of body hair may be used. References to head hair imply scalp hair exclusively. Body hair includes all other hair types (facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The laboratory processing of a drug test result encompasses four key stages: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning engages in the initial integration of a sample into the lab's system. This step involves ensuring the sample was sealed and dispatched correctly, allocating a Lan (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and fulfilling any extra data entry absent from an electronic chain of custody system.

Screening entails a preliminary rapid assessment for drugs of abuse. Although Screening is a cost-efficient method to dismiss drug use in most samples, a positive screen necessitates confirmation for court admissibility. Samples that test presumptively positive during Screening mandate further confirmation.

If a sample is presumptively positive during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the original sample and prepared for Extraction. During Extraction, drugs are drawn from hair at much lesser concentrations than other methodologies (e.g., urine or oral fluid), making hair drug testing one of the most complex methodologies to execute.

Confirmation of any positive screening outcome is executed through GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples presumed positive are cleansed before confirmation if necessary. The full laboratory process from Accessioning to Confirmation undergoes review under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation standards.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Extensive detection period: Hair drug tests identify drug use for up to 90 days, unlike urine tests which offer a briefer detection period.
• Challenging to falsify: Hair drug tests are difficult to deceive, ensuring accurate results.
• Yielding historical insights: Provides a chronology of drug use over time, not solely recent consumption.

Limitations:

• Inability to detect recent usage: Drugs become detectable in hair approximately 5–7 days post-use.
• Expense: Hair drug tests are typically more costly than other drug testing methods.
• Results variability: Factors like hair color and individual hair growth variations can influence drug metabolite concentrations in the hair.

Note: The term "hair follicle tests" is misleading as the test analyzes the hair strand, not the follicle beneath the scalp.

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

In Atlanta, WI, hair follicle testing stands out for its superiority in detection accuracy when compared to traditional urine tests. With its longer detection period and higher reliability, it offers a robust solution for employers seeking thorough drug screening options.

Extended Detection Window

Unlike traditional methods, hair follicle testing provides an extensive detection window of up to 90 days. This long-term insight into an individual’s drug use history grants employers in Atlanta, WI, the advantage of a comprehensive analysis of potential or current employees' substance habits.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

The hair follicle testing process significantly reduces the possibility of tampering. This method ensures that samples collected in Atlanta, WI, yield dependable results, eliminating doubts about sample integrity and providing confidence in the test outcomes.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

With numerous conveniently located testing centers throughout Atlanta, WI, and nationwide, conducting a hair follicle drug test is both quick and easy. This ensures hassle-free accessibility to testing services, catering to personal and professional needs efficiently.

Simple, Confidential Process

In Atlanta, WI, the hair follicle testing process is designed to be simple and confidential. This ensures that from ordering the test to receiving results, concerns regarding privacy are addressed, allowing users to navigate the process with ease and assurance.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Offering competitive pricing, hair follicle testing in Atlanta, WI, combines affordability with rapid turnaround times. This ensures great value for businesses of varied sizes, maintaining high standards while remaining budget-friendly.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

Hair follicle testing provides not only fast results, but the accuracy of these results is unparalleled in detecting substance use. In Atlanta, WI, this method ensures that employers receive reliable and precise data within a short timeframe, making it highly preferred for substance detection.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

For employers in Atlanta, WI, hair follicle testing offers more than just thorough results; it assures compliance with drug-free workplace policies. This promotes a safer environment, minimizes legal risks, and grants peace of mind by ensuring adherence to company standards.

Drug Testing Near Atlanta, WI

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What's New In Hair Follicle Drug Testing according to the Hair Drug Testing Experts

With its multidisciplinary nature, hair testing brings together researchers, scientists, and experts from various domains to develop innovative techniques, explore new methodologies, and address emerging concerns, responding to the ever-evolving challenges of drug abuse, therapeutic drug monitoring, and environmental exposures to pollutants.

The joint meeting of the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) and the Italian Group of Forensic Toxicologists (GTFI) was organized in Verona, June 8–10, 2022, and hosted by the Legal Medicine team of the Verona University Hospital, directed by Franco Tagliaro together with Federica Bortolotti and Rossella Gottardo.

It served as a prominent platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration, facilitating groundbreaking advancements in hair testing and analysis. In this special issue of Drug Testing and Analysis, we aim to showcase the remarkable manuscripts presented at this significant event, shedding light on the latest research and highlighting the future directions in this field.

Novel Analytical Techniques: The Verona meeting witnessed the unveiling of cutting-edge analytical techniques, offering enhanced sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy for drug testing. Remarkable advancements in sample preparation, detection, and identification of drug compounds have been presented. The manuscripts in this section presented novel approaches, such as multianalyte methods and on-line preparation which can enable rapid analysis and improve thorough forensic investigations.

Biomarkers and Pharmacokinetics: The identification and validation of reliable biomarkers and pharmacokinetic studies are fundamental aspects of drug testing and analysis. The impact of hair treatments on the oxidation/decomposition of drugs in hair was also explored, as the long-term fate of drugs incorporated in the keratin matrix. Furthermore, the SoHT meeting in Verona featured research on the identification and quantification of alcohol abuse biomarkers, their stability, and their correlation with exposure and other biomarkers.

Forensic Applications and Interpretation: One of the vital objectives of hair testing is its application in forensic investigations and legal proceedings. The SoHT meeting in Verona emphasized the significance of rigorous interpretation of analytical results and the need for standardized protocols. Manuscripts in this section present advancements in forensic toxicology, and have explored the challenges posed by emerging designer drugs and strategies to combat their proliferation. The pitfalls encountered when the exogenous/endogenous nature of a substance is questioned were presented and discussed. The special issue presents also manuscripts that delve into the ethical implications of drug testing in drug facilitated sexual assaults.

Clinical Applications of hair testing are witnessed by the insight on environmental tobacco smoke exposure, assessed by hair analysis in a population of students and the study of in utero-exposure to drugs of abuse through neonatal hair analysis. Exposure to drugs was also important in cases of child abuse/neglect, when the clinical purpose of hair testing merge with its forensic applications.

The legal framework surrounding hair testing and the achievement of guidelines to ensure fairness, accuracy, and confidentiality in drug testing practices have also been discussed,and the SoHT consensus on general hair testing and testing for drugs of abuse was presented at the meeting and published as a Letter to the Editor.

In conclusion, the special issue of Drug Testing and Analysis, featuring manuscripts from the SoHT–GTFI meeting in Verona 2022, reflects the remarkable advancements achieved in this field. The manuscripts provide valuable insights into novel analytical techniques, biomarkers, pharmacokinetics, forensic applications, and ethical considerations. As we embrace these advancements, we pave the way for a safer, healthier society, where drug testing and analysis serve as powerful tools in protecting public health and maintaining integrity in various sectors. The research presented in this special issue will undoubtedly shape the future of drug testing and analysis, fostering collaboration and inspiring further innovation in this crucial area of scientific inquiry.

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