Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing is now recognized as an effective measure for detecting use of drugs and alcohol. It offers a prolonged record of substance use by capturing biomarkers in the hair strand's growing fibers. When taken near the scalp, hair can present roughly a three-month detection period for alcohol and drugs. Hair is straightforward to gather, moderately hard to tamper with, and simple to transport.
A 1.5-inch section of around 200 hair strands (comparable to a #2 pencil) closest to the scalp supplies 100mg of hair, the optimum sample for testing and verification. For EtG, extra panels, and/or tests exceeding 10 panels, 150mg of the sample is advised. We suggest using a jeweler’s scale to weigh the sample. Should scalp hair not be attainable, the same amount of body hair is an option. For head hair, we exclusively mean scalp hair. Body hair covers all other types (such as facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
Four essential steps in the lab processing of a drug test result include Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning starts with the sample's initial processing into a lab’s system. This task includes ensuring that the sample was sealed and shipped accurately, assigning a unique LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completing any missing data entry that an electronic chain of custody system hasn't provided.
Screening offers an initial swift evaluation for substances. Despite Screening being an economical approach to exclude drug use in most samples, a positive result demands confirmation for courtroom acceptance. Any samples that preliminarily test positive in Screening require further confirmation.
If a sample tests presumptively positive during Screening, additional hair is extracted from the original specimen for Extraction. In this stage, drugs are withdrawn from hair at concentrations considerably lower than other approaches (e.g., urine or oral fluid), making hair drug screening the most challenging method to conduct.
Confirmation of any positive result from Screening is carried out with GC/MS, GC/MS/MS or LC/MS/MS. All samples testing presumptive positive are cleansed before confirmation as required. The complete lab process from Accessioning to Confirmation undergoes review under both the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair classification and the accreditation to ISO / IEC 17025 standards.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: Although frequently termed as "hair follicle tests", the analysis is conducted on the hair strand, not the follicle beneath the scalp
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Geronimo, TX
Extended Detection Window in Geronimo, TX
Tamper-Resistant Testing Method in Geronimo, TX
Convenient Nationwide Testing Locations and Local Locations in Geronimo, TX
Simple, Confidential Process in Geronimo, TX
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