Hair Follicle Drug Testing - Mountain, WI

What it is, How it works

Hair testing is recognized as an effective method for identifying drug and alcohol usage. By capturing biomarkers within the fibers of hair as it grows, hair offers a historical record of substance use. When taken near the scalp, it can reveal drug and alcohol use within roughly a 3-month period. Collecting hair is straightforward, difficult to tamper with, and convenient to transport.

A 1.5-inch segment of around 200 hair strands (approximating the size of a #2 pencil) from the scalp equals about 100mg, which is the optimal amount for both screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional tests, or panels exceeding 10, a 150mg sample is advisable. It's suggested to use a jeweler's scale for measuring the sample. If scalp hair isn't accessible, a similar quantity of body hair can be used. "Head hair" refers to scalp hair only, whereas "body hair" includes all other types (facial, axillary, etc.).

Process Overview

The lab procedure for determining a drug test result includes four primary stages: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.

Accessioning pertains to the initial handling of a sample in a laboratory's system. This process confirms the proper sealing and shipping of the sample, assigns a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and finishes any necessary data entry not covered by an electronic chain-of-custody system.

Screening serves as an initial quick assessment for drugs of abuse. Although Screening is a cost-effective method for eliminating drug use in most samples, a positive result must be verified for it to be legally valid. Samples presumed positive during Screening necessitate additional confirmation.

If a sample shows a presumptive positive during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the original specimen for the Extraction phase. At this point, drugs are removed from hair at concentrations much lower than other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluids), making hair drug screening the most complex methodology to execute.

Confirmation of any positive screening follows via GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples indicating a presumptive positive undergo necessary washing before Confirmation. The full lab procedure, from Accessioning to Confirmation, is scrutinized under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair standards and the accreditation of ISO/IEC 17025.

Advantages of hair drug testing:

• Long detection window: Hair drug tests can detect drug use for up to 90 days, while urine tests have a shorter detection window.
• Difficulty to cheat: Cheating a hair drug test is very challenging, ensuring more precise results.
• Provides historical data: It illustrates a timeline of drug use over time, beyond just recent use.

Limitations:

• Cannot detect recent use: Drugs need approximately 5-7 days before they are detectable in hair.
• Cost: Hair drug tests are usually more costly than other testing approaches.
• Variations in results: Variables like hair color and individual growth patterns can influence drug metabolite concentrations in hair.

Note: Often termed "hair follicle tests", this evaluation actually examines the hair strand, not the follicle beneath the scalp.

Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing

In Mountain, WI, hair follicle testing surpasses urine tests with better detection and reliability. Unlike traditional urine tests, hair tests provide an extended detection period, offering a broader view of substance use history.

Compared to urine testing, hair follicle analyses from Mountain, WI, stand out with their enhanced reliability and accuracy. Benefiting employers, hair tests are less prone to tampering and ensure longer drug use history examination.

Extended Detection Window

In Mountain, WI, hair follicle testing is unrivaled when it comes to long-term detection windows, reviewing drug usage history over 90 days. This approach empowers employers with insights into an individual’s substance history.

Hair testing in Mountain, WI, offers an extended detection period, examining substance use far beyond the scope of traditional tests. Employers benefit from a comprehensive view over 90 days.

Tamper-Resistant Testing Method

Mountain, WI's hair follicle testing significantly curtails the risk of sample adulteration. Its accuracy lays in its method—the minimized possibility for donors to alter samples ensures reliable and authentic results.

By adopting hair follicle tests in Mountain, WI, the chance of tampering or sample adulteration is significantly reduced, offering accurate and irrefutable substance use results.

Convenient Nationwide Locations

Mountain, WI benefits from our extensive network of testing centers, offering hassle-free access to drug testing services. Convenient national locations ensure quick and efficient service proximity.

With easy access to nationwide and local testing facilities in Mountain, WI, getting a drug test is simple, combining convenience with comprehensive service coverage.

Simple, Confidential Process

In Mountain, WI, ordering, undergoing, and receiving results from hair follicle testing is streamlined and confidential. This simple process addresses privacy concerns while offering ease of access.

The confidentiality and simplicity of hair testing in Mountain, WI emphasize user-friendly procedures, ensuring privacy at every step—from ordering to result receipt.

Affordable, Fast Turnaround

Mountain, WI offers affordable hair follicle testing, boasting competitive pricing structures and rapid result turnaround, delivering excellent value for businesses of varying sizes.

Combining fast turnaround times with economical pricing, hair testing in Mountain, WI prevails as a budget-friendly choice, ensuring quick results and cost-efficiency for all enterprises.

Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Results

In Mountain, WI, hair follicle drug testing is synonymous with reliability, offering fast and precise results. Ensuring high accuracy, this method effectively detects substance use, becoming a trusted choice for employers and authorities.

With hair testing, Mountain, WI residents can rely on superior detection capabilities that produce prompt and accurate analyses of drug use, making it a preferred method here.

Compliance and Peace of Mind for Employers

Employers in Mountain, WI gain peace of mind through hair follicle testing, aligning with workplace drug-free policies and minimizing legal risks. This method enhances workplace safety and compliance with stringent standards.

For Mountain, WI employers, hair testing ensures drug policy compliance, mitigating legal risks while upholding a drug-free work environment with greater efficacy than other methods.

Drug Testing Near Mountain, WI

Menominee, WI

Stephenson, WI

White Lake, WI

Oconto, WI

Townsend, WI

Maple Valley, WI

Brazeau, WI

Lakewood, WI

Suring, WI

How, WI

Doty, WI

Riverview, WI

Breed, WI

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Customer Reviews