Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair analysis is gaining recognition as a highly effective method for identifying drug and alcohol consumption. Hair retains a prolonged timeline of alcohol and drug use by capturing biomarkers within the strands of hair as they grow. When collected from the scalp, hair samples can offer a detection span of up to about 3 months for alcohol and drugs. Hair sampling is easy, relatively hard to tamper with, and straightforward to transport.
A 1.5-inch segment, consisting of around 200 strands of hair (approximately the thickness of a #2 pencil), nearest to the scalp provides 100mg of hair, which is optimal for screening and verification. For EtG, additional substances, and/or tests exceeding 10 panels, 150mg of the sample is advised. We suggest using a jeweler's scale for accurate measurement. If scalp hair is absent, an equivalent amount of body hair can be collected. Head hair denotes scalp hair specifically. Body hair encompasses all other hair types (such as facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The laboratory processing of drug test results encompasses four primary steps: Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning pertains to the initial sample processing into the lab’s system. It includes verifying sample sealing and shipping accuracy, assigning a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and finalizing any additional data entry not facilitated by an electronic chain of custody system.
Screening provides an initial rapid evaluation for substances of abuse. While this process is cost-effective for excluding drug usage in most samples, a confirmed positive result is necessary for legal admissibility. Samples found presumptively positive during Screening necessitate a follow-up confirmation.
If Screening detects a sample as presumptively positive, additional hair is extracted from the original specimen for Extraction. During Extraction, drugs are isolated from hair at significantly lower concentrations than other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), making hair drug screening the most challenging methodology to execute.
Confirmation of any positive Screening result is performed using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All presumptive positive samples undergo washing before confirmation if required. The entire lab 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:
Limitations:
Note: Despite often being called "hair follicle tests", the actual analysis targets the hair strand and not the follicle beneath the scalp.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Bartlett, NE
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Tamper-Resistant Testing Method in Bartlett, NE
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