Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair tests are now recognized as an effective means for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair captures a timeline of drug and alcohol activity by embedding biomarkers within the hair's fibers. When sampled near the scalp, it offers a detection window of up to three months for alcohol and drugs. Hair collection is straightforward, hard to tamper with, and easy to transport.
A specimen measuring 1.5 inches, comprising roughly 200 hair strands (approximately the width of a #2 pencil) from the scalp, yields 100mg of hair, which is optimal for screening and confirmation. For EtG, additional panels, or tests exceeding 10 panels, it's advisable to collect 150mg. It's suggested to use a jeweler's scale to weigh the sample. If scalp hair is unavailable, collect an equivalent amount of body hair. References to head hair pertain exclusively to scalp hair, while body hair includes all other types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The four primary stages in laboratory drug testing are Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning is the preliminary processing of a sample in a lab’s system. This process ensures the sample was properly sealed and shipped, assigns a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and adds any missing data not covered by an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening consists of an initial expedited check for drug use. Although Screening is a cost-effective strategy to eliminate drug usage in most samples, a praiseworthy screen requires verification for court acceptance. Samples with presumptive positives in Screening require further confirmation.
A sample with a presumptive positive in Screening leads to additional hair being extracted from the initial specimen and prepared for Extraction. Drugs are removed from hair at a much lower concentration than other methods (such as urine or oral fluid), making hair drug screening particularly challenging.
Confirmation of any positive screening outcomes is executed through GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples with presumptive positives undergo washing prior to confirmation as necessary. The entire procedure from Accessioning through Confirmation is evaluated under the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair designation and accredited to ISO / IEC 17025 standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: Though frequently termed "hair follicle tests", it actually examines the hair strand, not the hair follicle beneath the scalp.
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